Are there any comic book characters you love despite their perceived lameness?

[Manticorkscrew]

Sigh. I had just written a very long post on this subject in which I described my love for Aquaman and Gambit. Unfortunately, the board had logged me out by the time I'd finished, and I forgot to save it in any other format, so the whole piece of work was lost.

Still, let me open up the thread I planned to open. Sure, everybody thinks Wolverine and Batman are cool*. But are there any comic book characters you will always love despite the fact that they are utterly uncool?


*Actually I really dislike the comic book version of Wolverine, which is odd, because I liked him in the film. It's just that the comic book version is so consistently badly-written. Sure, you can see pretty pictures of him eviscerating several hundred ninjas at once, if you like that sort of thing, but he hasn't had a personality in recent years beyond 'generic bad boy with a mysterious past'. And his dialogue is usually very poor.

And what has he been doing recently? Fighting Sabretooth. That's it. He's been fighting Sabretooth for what seems like 6 issues.

BUT ANYWAY, rant over...

I've opened myself up to scorn and ridicule by admitting my liking for two of the most maligned characters in comics. Is there anyone who would like to join me?

[Khantalas]

I like Cyclops. So feel free to hate me.

Also I never liked Wolverine. Not in the animated series, not in the few issues of X-Men I happened to get my hands on and not in the movies.

Since when is Gambit lame?

[TreesOfDeath]

I feel Cyclops is bashed far too harshly. Im not a giant of him, but I think hes a decent leader withslighlty large ego, and I think that works. His power is a little boring, but hes pretty strong.
I think Storm is cool, even if she is something of a sterotype.
I like most of the spiderman villians.
Thats all I can think of. Whos being attacked and doesn't deserve it?

[Closet_Skeleton]

Since when is Gambit lame?

Despite being an entirely incorrect ethnic stereotype Gambit has always been cool.

[elliott20]

I've always had a thing for second string characters. Don't know why, but the fact they are actually expendable makes their story all the more compelling to me.

[Jibar]

Cyclops has always been one my favorite characters. I was absolutely flabbergasted when I heard people found him lame.
They reeeeally did not help this view with their movies.

[Arlanthe]

I've always thought Namor was kinda cool, even though everyone seems to hate him.

It was funny when he broke the Avengers table by pounding his fist on it, and Captain America made him buy a new one.

[Joran]

I like Cyclops. So feel free to hate me.

Woah, I like Cyclops too. We may not be as few as I thought we were.

I also echo the views that Gambit is indeed cool. He throws exploding playing cards for goodness sake!

[elliott20]

I think people usually dislike Cyclops because for a lack of a better word, he's friggin' emo and self-absorbed as hell. To be honest, I find wolverine to be like that too at times but the difference is he does it while being bad ass and anti-authoritarian, which apparently makes it work.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I like Superman, who a lot of people on the 'Worst Superhero' thread were passionately attacking (because they had only read silver age comics of him, but still).

I don't like many of the anti-heroes that are way to common these days. Batman and Spider-Man comics (not the character) often annoy me. I also don't like Marvel comics in general- they have too much soap opera, characters you can 'relate to' and shades-of-gray villains.

<insert rant about wanting to read an entertaining good-verses-evil story, not an angst-ridden superpowered soap opera, here>

[Viscount Einstrauss]

I actually like Aquaman. He's got a good story and neat adventures. Poor guy just gets a bad rap because his powers aren't as good as everyone else's.

[Knight_Of_Twilight]

I like Cyclops. So feel free to hate me.

Also I never liked Wolverine. Not in the animated series, not in the few issues of X-Men I happened to get my hands on and not in the movies.

Since when is Gambit lame?

There was a time, when Cyclops was the hero, and Wolverine was a punk who was generally kept in line by a hero.

Then the smelly ones decided that Wolverine was their patron, and as comics slowly went to cater to them, Cyclops was deemed uncool, and lame.

And Wolverine went from a psychopath on the right side ( Not unlike Belkar) to grumpy big brother.

[Gavin Sage]

By the gods, Cyclops fans. And here I thought I was the only one. He gets no love, well except for Jean but she's dead (which doesn't happen nearly as often as people like to think btw)

Hmm some others. I like Supergirl despite her title having so far ranged from bad to loathesome and mostly incoherent. I like the Shadowpact though I never here anything about them so feel like I'm the only one. I liked Spidey's Iron Spider outfit and was actually interested in him while he wore it.

And I don't hate Wolverine but think he should be carefully limited to one comic and not a solo title. And Batman I like as a character, but for the life of me cannot be interested in any of his personal titles. Same deal with Superman.

[FatherVenom]

There aren't that many people who don't like Cyclops anymore. It was much different back before he was merged with Apocalypse.

Come on people, Cyclops? He has always had plenty of fandom. Where are the really lame characters like the entire cast of Guardians of the Galaxy, such as Martinex, or the goofier New Warriors, like Slapstick or Speedball?

Of those Speedball was a great favorite of mine when he was unpopular (his power was bouncing) but now that he went all morbid and his powers altered I'm betting we'll see a lot more people jump on the Penance wagon.

[Beleriphon]

By the gods, Cyclops fans. And here I thought I was the only one. He gets no love, well except for Jean but she's dead (which doesn't happen nearly as often as people like to think btw)


The fact that you need to qualify Jean not being dead as often as people think makes me giggle. Although I suppose in all fairness the only people that stay dead in comics are Bruce Wayne's parents.

[Thorsmjolner]

I always liked Darkhawk...but that might just be because i could get the comics for 5 for $1.00 at Half Price Books...which will make almost any comic good...

[Gavin Sage]

The fact that you need to qualify Jean not being dead as often as people think makes me giggle. Although I suppose in all fairness the only people that stay dead in comics are Bruce Wayne's parents.

The problem is I can only track down two times Jean has died. First one in Dark Phoenix and current one which has held for a good long time now. Now given there's some twenty years between those but I really would like to see a list of her deaths sometime. So how she "dies all the time" I don't know.

Oh and Uncle Ben has stayed dead. We used to be able to add Bucky but that turned out all right.

[Beleriphon]

The problem is I can only track down two times Jean has died. First one in Dark Phoenix and current one which has held for a good long time now. Now given there's some twenty years between those but I really would like to see a list of her deaths sometime. So how she "dies all the time" I don't know.

Oh and Uncle Ben has stayed dead. We used to be able to add Bucky but that turned out all right.

I can think of one more off the top of my head when Jean Transfer her mind into Emma Frost's body. That said, she seems to die and get resurrected in every alternate time line or what have you that crops up, it seems to be one of those recurring themes with her despite only three deaths in normal continuity.

Although to be fair its the Phoenix that keeps croaking, whether its Jean, Rachel, or Madylene is the one that keeps coming back.

At any rate I'm going to have to give props to Cyclops. As much as dink as he can be these days I still like the character.

[StudlyDuck]

Cyclops has always been my favorite superhero, but he's been pretty well covered here. But I would like to add, that I totally agree that antiheroes are overused these days. We need more lawful aligned superheroes.

I like Namor, especially ever since I picked up the Illuminati LS. When properly written, he can be obnoxious and arrogant without losing his sense of nobility.

Stilt-Man I guess, even if it's only because he's started being treated like the joke he's been all along.

[kerberos]

The problem is I can only track down two times Jean has died. First one in Dark Phoenix and current one which has held for a good long time now. Now given there's some twenty years between those but I really would like to see a list of her deaths sometime. So how she "dies all the time" I don't know.

Oh and Uncle Ben has stayed dead. We used to be able to add Bucky but that turned out all right.
Really the people that die all the time are not primary heroes. it's secondary character and villians.

Also Gwen Stacy has and probably will stay dead. That is if you don't count alternate universes, delusion, shape shifters, lookalikes, clones who turn out to not be clones who turn out to be clones after all etc. You know the standard stuff.

[Revlid]

Shocker is one of my favourites. He's a third-stringer supervillain, knows it, and hates it. But I loves him nonetheless. I've already linked Shocker: Legit? on these boards once, so I won't do it again.

[kerberos]

I like Superman, who a lot of people on the 'Worst Superhero' thread were passionately attacking (because they had only read silver age comics of him, but still).
Speaking for myself I can say it'sabsolutly NOT true that I hate Superman becasue I've only read solver age comics of him.
















I hate him because I've only watched the movies of him.

[Rob Knotts]

Rom, Spaceknight (http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/01/06/365-reasons-to-love-comics-6/)

Rom had the cosmic paladin appeal I've always felt for Green Lantern without the long, convoluted history that always intimidated me away from GL comics. The sci-fi/sorcerous Wraith villains also allowed the comic to have a really strong Lovecraftian vibe through most of the series. Overall the series featured a lot of corny adventure/horror stories that reminded me of what few 70s comics I had the chance to read*. The fact that it was based on an electronic toy that was primitive by modern standards really only makes the toy that much more pathetic compared to the comic incarnation.

*Didn't start collecting comics until 1980, and that was in a small farming town where the only back issues I could find were a $.25 box at the local coin dealer's. Then I found Mile High Comics, and eventually I moved to a much bigger city...

[Manticorkscrew]

I loved the Gambit comic book series by Fabian Nicieza. It was incredibly fun, even towards the end when it faded away into the nightmare that some fans refer to as the "Gambit/Bishop limited series" (which was not written by Nicieza).

In everything I've seen since, including comics that were written before then, Gambit has been a whiny guy with a bad accent and a worse costume with a silly back story. But I don't care because for me Nicieza's series was the definitive version of the character. Why should I blame the character because he's suffered under a group of writers that hate him, don't understand him, or want to make him into something other than he was? (sigh... horseman of Apocalypse... sigh)

As for very minor characters that I always liked? I liked Orpheus, Batman's former spy in Gotham's criminal underworld. And then he got killed by Black Mask (sigh). And I liked Zauriel, from Grant Morrison's JLA.

[NinjaFish]

*Actually I really dislike the comic book version of Wolverine, which is odd, because I liked him in the film. It's just that the comic book version is so consistently badly-written. Sure, you can see pretty pictures of him eviscerating several hundred ninjas at once, if you like that sort of thing, but he hasn't had a personality in recent years beyond 'generic bad boy with a mysterious past'. And his dialogue is usually very poor.

And what has he been doing recently? Fighting Sabretooth. That's it. He's been fighting Sabretooth for what seems like 6 issues.


I'm a huge Wolverine fan, which makes your words sting my very soul, primarily because they are oh-so-valid. I haven't enjoyed a storyline since the mid-90's (a little after issue 100) with the exception Wolvie's civil war sortie, for all the reasons you've mentioned.

AND you were generous! You didn't even mention the ongoing offal that is Origins! You show much restraint! :smallbiggrin:

But I love him anyway. As lame as he's been the last few years, I still think he has potential to be a great character. Besides, he's a fellow canucklehead! :smallwink:

[StudlyDuck]

In everything I've seen since, including comics that were written before then, Gambit has been a whiny guy with a bad accent and a worse costume with a silly back story. But I don't care because for me Nicieza's series was the definitive version of the character. Why should I blame the character because he's suffered under a group of writers that hate him, don't understand him, or want to make him into something other than he was? (sigh... horseman of Apocalypse... sigh)


I actually found Gambit's screw-up-filled return to the X-Men after he escaped the Antarctic to be highly entertaining. "A word of advice. The next time your extremely heavy companion is standing on an icy, unstable cliff, do NOT leap upon his back and yell 'CHICKEN FIGHT!'"

[J_Muller]

Since when is Gambit anything but the best X-man ever? I'm very sad that you don't see him much in comics these days, though I admit that I haven't read much X-men lately.

[Rob Knotts]

Since when is Gambit anything but the best X-man ever? You're probably right. He's the least self-deprecating, least apologetic, least angsty... so much so, in fact, that he's pretty much disqualified from being an X-man in the first place:smallamused:

[Manticorkscrew]

Yeah, maybe I just hang around too many forums where there are many Gambit-haters.

Anyway, getting back on topic...

My problem is that many people hate comic book characters because those characters have been poorly written. Take Aquaman, for example. His powers aren't that lame. Super-strength? That's always cool. Durability? Useful. Telepathic control over any sea-creature? Whoa, that means he has a spy network that potentially covers 7/10s of the Earth's surface. More, if you consider that he has been shown controlling sea birds.

Plus, I've always thought it must be pretty humiliating to be beaten by Aquaman. I mean, what would you say in prison?

And there are some good Superman stories out there. I think one problem is that both the writers and the readers have a tendency to focus more on what his amazing powers can do, instead of what they can't do. I hear a lot of "Nobody can beat Superman because he is so way overpowered." Yes, Superman is strong, can fly and has heat vision and a plethora of other powers. But can he fight political threats? Corruption? Can he bring about world peace? Can he save everybody?

Doctor Manhattan was the same. Theoretically, Doctor Manhattan had godlike power. He could do anything he wanted. But what made him so interesting in Watchmen was that he was rather weak-willed and easily-led and that he had a set of all-too-human weaknesses that Ozymandias was able to exploit. Nobody could kill him, but he could be beaten.

Superheroes don't need to be beaten nearly to death by every idiot that comes along in order to be interesting and relatable characters. It's not the power- it's what you do with it.

[Jibar]

I've come to understand that some people don't like Mr. Fantastic. I kinda like him. He's pretty cool. [/nonchalant]
There was somebody else I wanted to mention, but it's just completely slipped my mind...

[UglyPanda]

I like Nightcrawler, Nocturne, and Banshee, but they're not particularly hated at the moment.

Jean Grey has died quite a few times.
-The first appearance of Phoenix was a death. Jean Grey died and Phoenix came out of the water. It wasn't that she just splashed into the water and got a new costume, she actually died and was reborn in less than a minute.
-She committed suicide at the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga (Technically a clone created by the phoenix, but that was a retcon anyway).
-She pops out of the healing cocoon and rejoins the X-men. She then gets killed by a sentinel and transfers her mind into Emma Frost. She soon returns.
-Killed by Xorn.
-Is resurrected in a future time-line and subsequently moves that reality into the White-Hot Room. This version of Jean is not seen again.
-In a time period much sooner to our current time, the Phoenix Force resurrects Jean. After a battle with the X-men, Jean Grey left for the White-Hot room.

Jean didn't become a popular character until after she became the phoenix, and with her new theme being a creature that can resurrect herself, she was instantly synonymous with comic-book-death and resurrection.

[Mr. Mud]

Yes, thank you ive wanted to say this for a long time... :smallsigh:

I HATE THE THING!!! he has kinda dumb puns and what the heck does "Clubbering Time" mean??!!?? he's a Very weird character but most people love him :smallannoyed:
by the way dont kill me for saying this :smalltongue:

[Chaos Perfected]

That's "Clobbering Time". Clobbering is the act of smashing things very hard.

And the Thing has a rough time, I imagine he is on the bottom level of characters whose only powers are durability and super strength, but none of the others have the horrible appearence side effect.

[RBPRX1204]

I've always like the characters Havok and Forge. Havok, the younger brother always trying to get out of his brother's shadow. Forge, the inventor with so much good back story. I know Havok has had his time in the sun in the current X-Men comics, trying to save the Shi'ar Empire from utter distruction, but I liked him better when the X-Men were in the Outback. So conflicted, and with Maddy messing with him. Forge just has a coolness.

Oh, and speaking of second string characters, what about Madison Jeffries/Box Mk IV. Dang, I wanted to see him go out against Iron Man soooooo bad.

[StudlyDuck]

And the Thing has a rough time, I imagine he is on the bottom level of characters whose only powers are durability and super strength, but none of the others have the horrible appearence side effect.

I'm pretty sure that the Thing's strength is relatively high, even by Marvel Superhero standards. He's not at the level of guys like the Hulk, the Sentry, or Namor, but he's up there. Wizard did a ranking system sometime. I'll try to find it.

[EvilJames]

Actually I think the Thing is pretty close to the hulk in strength for the most part he goes toe to toe with him reasonably often, I think he's even beaten the hulk once or twice.

I haven't liked wolverine in a long time I hate how marvel trots him out for everything in the hope that he'll increase sales (Avengers? I mean come on) I for one can't understand how a minor Hulk villain became so popular as a hero.

I don't hate cyclops, I'm not a huge fan either, but I was annoyed how they treated him in the final movie.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Tinted Glasses kill character.

Cyclops in four words.

[Chaos Perfected]

It just seems to me that The Thing gets randomly owned by every guy with super powered strength. I think Colossus has even beaten him a few times.

[Jibar]

Another character who deserves a bit more attention: The Punisher.
He seems to get ignored far too much, when it's rather refreshing to have a superhero without powers (unlike that dirty lier Batman).

[Closet_Skeleton]

Another character who deserves a bit more attention: The Punisher.
He seems to get ignored far too much, when it's rather refreshing to have a superhero without powers (unlike that dirty lier Batman).

Or Iron Man, or Hawkeye. Or Karate Kid, who barely manages to escape being as lame as he sounds.

Although I have a soft spot for 'non-super' heroes, heroes with limited power that still takes intelligence to apply properly are equally interesting.

[tahu88810]

For XMEN I've always liked wolverine, I think its a genetic thing... :smalleek:

But I think Gambit is the best, his eyes glow red and he throws explosive cards at people. Then smashes them with a quarterstaff...hes the best.
--
AS for anything else, my favorites are Deadpool and Dr.Strange.
Both of which don't seem to get much attention. (Or as far as I've seen, and since Newbury Comics don't seem to have many comic book readers in them I'll probably never know...)

I actually think there should be a Dr.Strange movie where he fights Mephisto, or atleast gos to Mephisto's Realm...that would be cool...
Or he does something cool like that...

[Beleriphon]

I actually think there should be a Dr.Strange movie where he fights Mephisto, or atleast gos to Mephisto's Realm...that would be cool...
Or he does something cool like that...

He did that with Doctor Doom in a contest to see who could kick the crap out of Mephisto the fastest. The prize was the winner became the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth.

[Thinweazel]

I have to say that along with Gambit for underappreciated super characters, I also like Havoc. The poor guy has been overshadowed by his brother Cyclops and has probably been kidnapped more times than anyone else in the Marvel universe. After developing his powers he made a pretty decent superhero. IMO i think with the correct writers he could have made a pretty powerfull ally.

[Tyrant]

I like Apocalypse as a villian for the XMen (or all of Marvel I suppose). He's my favorite XMen villian in fact. But I see people trash him on various message boards quite often. The fact that they still use him in major mutli-issue storylines and the fact that everytime an XMen product featuring villians comes out he is mentioned as being desired for any sequels or followups tells me it's mainly a few who dislike him and are very vocal about it. I do see their point in that he is sometimes used as more of a plot device than a character. It almost seems like he is put to good use everywhere they use him (alternate realities, the future, the past, cartoons series, video games, figures, etc) except for present day 616 Marvel Earth.

I liked the most recent storyline he was in because it showed some level of change in his outlook and character. He actually was starting to question himself after numerous failures and mad schemes (namely the 12) and realizing that the only mutants he would likely ever consider worthy of being his followers are those that opposed him (the XMen). He also confirmed that he wanted mutants to have to beat humanity to prove their worthiness. He wasn't just going to wipe out humanity for them. And if humanity proved stronger, then so be it. In my opinion, these were considerable changes in his character making him more of a character with depth and less of a plot device. I liked him as a character (he's willing to take his ideals to whatever extremes they guide him to, unlike Magneto) and his powers (whatever the writer feels like more or less) before, but this storyline convinced me at least one writer at Marvel "got him" as a character. Also, how can you not like a character who is tied in some way or another to almost every other mutant (and some nonmutants) around? His past is tied into everything at this point and they just keep adding to it. Who hasn't he fought or impacted in the XUniverse by now? He apparently also has relatives, including Chamber and Blink.

I also like Stilt Man, though that's for pure comedic value. After reading a proposed idea for Daredevil 2 that featured the movie opening up with Daredevil beating up on Stilt Man, I am convinced he could be used by either SpiderMan or Daredevil movie writes as an opening filler villian for comedic effect. I actually wonder why they don't do this. Instead of generic bad guys robbing the store, make it crappy villians that won't ever be the spot light villian. Need a highspeed chase, use Rocket Racer. Need a bank robber, use Whirlwind. Generic tough guy, use Tombstone. The list goes on and on. You could even use them as lackies to the main villian if you needed to.

[Jeggred Von]

Despite their lameness,

Heroes I love:
Cannonball - They overdid the whole country hick in a big city thing
Gertie of the Morlocks - he's just cute...and like..bumpy but so cool
Warlock(pre Douglock) - great awesome power, felt bad for him. like short circuit's Johnny5.
Forge: he's got great potential, but they keep him like 4th stringer../sigh
Speedball: ...aww you remember the new warriors? anyone who listens to a leader with a skadeboard on his arm as a shield, has got to enjoy life.
Cloak N Dagger: such a great duo... they need to have them back in some form.

Lame-o villains I love:
Mysterio: Fishbowl head. I feel so bad for smokey...he's such a great laugh villian.
Vulture: this guy is so lame, I love that Marvel gives work to the elderly.
The Owl: Man! the pics of him?...Just two words: Wolverine Ripoff! He's so lame.
Shocker: This guy...wears a mattress for a costume?!?!?
UNicorn: A helmet.. that shoots a beam of energy..and he calls himself " UNicorn" ...and his colors are/were greenand purple...and we're NOT supposed to snicker?
Whizzer: Okay the name alone makes me have sophmoric chuckles, but he shoots buzzsaws...this guy work at Home Depot or something? "Price check on 10" mitre saw blades!"

[One_Wolf]

It has been quite some time since I have actually read a comic book.

But in my collecting days, my favorite arguably lame character was Puck from Alpha Flight. He made me laugh and I thought he was cool.

Also, I dont know if he is considered lame, but Nightcrawler was one of my all time favorites.

-One Wolf

[The Extinguisher]

All of the Great Lakes Avengers. They define lame, and awesome at the same time.

Plus, a lot of people seem to hate X-23 for some reason. She's one of my favourite characters.

[StudlyDuck]

Cloak N Dagger: such a great duo... they need to have them back in some form.

I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing more of them soon. They've appeared a couple of times in Runaways, which is a pretty successful series. Cloak played a brief, but important role in CW. Combine that with the fact that Marvel seems to be using a lot of characters that have hardly, if ever, been seen in years (Moon Knight, Ricochet and Prodigy from Slingers, the Inhumans, and so on).

[Daisemiin]

Gambit and most of the "awesomely cool" heroes and villains in the X books in the 90s should just die.

I havent read comics in years. mostly due to X-burnout, but I like Cyclops. I liked Magic before they reverted her to a powerless child again. Brave, spunky and 3/5ths demonic cant be wrong.

I liked the Purple Girl for her personality but I think shes dead.

[Baalzebub]

1. Superman. I know Silver Age wasn't as good for him, but he is THE hero.

2. Cyclops. I like cyclops since I was just a kid.

3. Aquaman. Don't mess with him underwater.

[sealemon]

It's always bugged me to hear people talking trash about Aquaman. Stoopid Superfriends...As Grant Morrison pointed ount in his JLA run, not only is Arthur strong, resiliant, tactically strong, mental powers that include ego blasts against higher lifefomrs (seizure, anyone), he's also undisputed king of 70 percent of the Earth. The man has his own army the size of China's...but with better tech.

I've also had a fondness for Nova, Thrasher of the New Warriors--hell the whole New Warriors, for that matter...

and I even kinda like the Global Guardians.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Easily the Shocker.

Shocker: Legit is what did it.

[doliemaster]

I personally love the J2 comics for Marvel 2, even if it was so unpopular that it was canceled after twelve issues. Can't find many fans of it.

[Setra]

1. Gambit
2. Aquaman
3. Daredevil

[Grod_The_Giant]

Superman, Aquaman, the Lizard.

And I don't really like Spidy.

[Hushdawg]

I'm pretty sure that the Thing's strength is relatively high, even by Marvel Superhero standards. He's not at the level of guys like the Hulk, the Sentry, or Namor, but he's up there. Wizard did a ranking system sometime. I'll try to find it.

It isn't just that Thing is incredibly strong, it is the simple fact that he has nearly limitless stamina. His unique physiology does not create the same kind of toxins that organic muscles do and therefore he does not fatigue like regular people do. His extremely tough exterior has gotten harder and denser over time such that nowadays not even armour-piercing bullets can penetrate it.

Marvel Encyclopedia ranks Hulk and Thing as follows (relevant categories):
Strength- Hulk: 7/7 Thing: 6/7
Durability- Hulk: 7/7 Thing: 6/7
Fighting Skills- Hulk: 4/7 Thing: 5/7

Fantastic Four # 320: Thing beat Hulk
Marvel Fanfare # 21: Tie
Fantastic Four #112: Hulk beat Thing
Fantastic Four #12: Thing beat Hulk (fast I might add)
Fantastic Four #25-26: Hulk is forced to turn back into Banner, ergo stalemate

If you analyze all the fights between Thing and Hulk and negate ALL the fights where there is a draw or a stalemate or there is no clear winner at all; then the score ends up with Hulk beating Thing on a 4:1 ratio.

Interestingly enough, that's the same ratio as Namor beating Hulk.

[Hushdawg]

I've been reading Moon Knight, Blade and Ghost Rider since the early 1980s as often as I could find them.

I actually really enjoyed the Ravage 2099 series and still have the complete run.

I also have a special place in my heart for Speedball and Night Thrasher from New Warriors. Still have Volume 1 of New Warriors from issue #1- #50 and I love it.

:smallbiggrin:

[Grod_The_Giant]

Marvel Encyclopedia ranks Hulk and Thing as follows (relevant categories):
Strength- Hulk: 7/7 Thing: 6/7
Durability- Hulk: 7/7 Thing: 6/7
Fighting Skills- Hulk: 4/7 Thing: 5/7

Fantastic Four # 320: Thing beat Hulk
Marvel Fanfare # 21: Tie
Fantastic Four #112: Hulk beat Thing
Fantastic Four #12: Thing beat Hulk (fast I might add)
Fantastic Four #25-26: Hulk is forced to turn back into Banner, ergo stalemate

If you analyze all the fights between Thing and Hulk and negate ALL the fights where there is a draw or a stalemate or there is no clear winner at all; then the score ends up with Hulk beating Thing on a 4:1 ratio.

Interestingly enough, that's the same ratio as Namor beating Hulk.

I read some of the Thing/Hulk fights...Hulk was stronger but Thing kept going for a long time through brainpower and endurance. Stan Lee liked ol' Ben, I guess. He took down Dr. Doom alone in one case.

[sealemon]

He took down Dr. Doom alone in one case.

So did Luke Cage. I couldn't get to the archives in comics101.com, but the story is there under Cage'd Heat I beleive it's called.

[Dalenthas]

I like Iron Man. He's not really percieved as lame, just an ass. Well, he also happens to be right.
Iron Man rocks!

[Griemont]

People don't like Iron Man? Nonsense. :smallconfused:

Okay, apparently a lot of people here don't, but I personally love him. (not...like...that...:smallyuk:). Especially the Avengers-era comics and most of the older stuff. My favorite thing about him was that he had an awesome suit of armor, but his heart was
t3h suck, lol So, he could blast you with repulsors and pull out all sorts of crazy stuff, but if his batteries ran low, he ran the risk of getting his heart jabbed by lotsa pointy stuff, which also served to tie his physical strength (in terms of stamina and such, not factoring in the suit) directly to his power level. Don't get me wrong, though, I love his recent stuff too. Aside from losing to Cap and (apparently) the Hulk. Even Bucky [Winter Soldier, who is like Cable sans-pwn] wants to kill him. :smalleek:

And everyone thinks he's an ass and arrogant (it's even listed as his primary character trait on HeroScape, according to a friend :smallmad:), but truthfully, I've never seen that side of him.

Great fan of the 1996 animated series, too, which I'm currently watching on YouTube (look up rage1110) :smallbiggrin:


EDIT: Dalenthas, get out of my head. :smalleek:

[Tom90deg]

Jubilee. I love her, and almost everyone I've talked to has said "Why? She's lame. Ohh, firework power actiavate!"

[Umbral_Arcanist]

Wait, Gambit is unliked?... huh..

I don't read much in the way of comics myself, just the ultimate x-men and spiderman at the local Barnes and Nobles when i visit. Honestly i don't dislike any of the characters, in one instance or another i've liked them, despite occassionally disliking their actions or the writing

[Closet_Skeleton]

Jubilee. I love her, and almost everyone I've talked to has said "Why? She's lame. Ohh, firework power actiavate!"

Jubilee is awesome really.

Despite being in most case absolutely useless.

[Rob Knotts]

Wait, Gambit is unliked?... huh..

I don't read much in the way of comics myself, just the ultimate x-men and spiderman at the local Barnes and Nobles when i visit. Honestly i don't dislike any of the characters, in one instance or another i've liked them, despite occassionally disliking their actions or the writingTry taking a look at the Ultimates books, you'll find all sorts of people to dislike:smallwink:

[bitnine]

I have to say, despite his obvious lameness, I like Dr. Pym.

He both has a sticktoitiveness that gets overlooked a lot, and many people just don't appreciate how he keeps the world safe from his wife's sass.

[Xuincherguixe]

I think ANY character can be good when well written. Some characters though are easier to work with than others.

[talsine]

Namor, i couldn't tell you why i liked him when i was a kid, but over time i've come to love him for the potential of his character. And sometimes it shows through. Wish they would give him better writers though.

Gambit should've died in antartica and never been brought back into the X-Men. None of the x-men should've been able to frogive him for the mutant massacre.

And i'd have to say Marrow deserves more credit than she gets, from those who remember her.

[InfernalistGame]

Slapstick, of the New Warriors. Lame as hell, knockoff of a knockoff. Bugs Bunny>The Mask>Slapstick(>Freakazoid, bringing the cycle all the way back to Warner Bros., BTW.). But I always like that sort of thing. Completely indestructible, lameasses with a goofy gimmick that are trying to make it in a serious world. Mimic in Age of Apocalypse X-Men for the same reason.

[The Demented One]

I'm a great fan of Molly and Gertie from Runaways, who never seem to get a fraction of the attention they deserve.

[king korath]

I like the runaways in general. I also like Iron man despite what some writers are doing to him.

[alchahest]

Despite his being overly important in some recent events, I really dig on booster Gold.

[Elven Paladin]

After just finishing Shocker:Legit I have to say that I've really come to like the Shocker, the Rhino, and the Gibbon. Poor Marty...

[psycojester]

I'm a great fan of Molly and Gertie from Runaways, who never seem to get a fraction of the attention they deserve.

I'm with you on Molly, she's both awesome and adorable. Gert on the other hand i never really saw a use for, its not like Old Lace is particularly useful a world filled with super powered everybody.

[DiscipleofBob]

When a character is generally hated, disliked, etc. by the general majority, it just makes the character that much more appealing to me. It gives them more of an underdog feel to know that not everyone in the world is rooting for them.

Gambit is probably my favorite comic book character of all time. He has cool powers, a sense of style, enough backstory and character depth to keep me interested, and isn't one of those mainstream heroes who's guaranteed a clear victory in almost every fight.

I wasn't a big fan of Iron Man until I started reading some comics he was actually in, namely Civil War, when I realized he's basically the Marvel universe's Batman. That made him much cooler in my book.

The only comic book characters I can think of off-hand that I'd label as lame are the Fantastic Four.

[fangthane]

Awkwardman. Not only is his name appropriate to his nature, it's also similar-sounding to Aquaman, and given that Awkwardman is The Mermaid's son and has big flippers on his feet, it's a win.

The Blimp. "With a strong headwind, about all I can manage to do is hover!"

Dumb Bunny, White Feather and Merryman weren't as impressive... But these two, I liked. And I think it's fair to say that everyone - including they themselves - sees the Inferior 5 as being lame.

[horseboy]

Rom, Spaceknight (http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/01/06/365-reasons-to-love-comics-6/)


Oh my God! Another Rom fan!

Yeah, Rom, Frank Castle, Zarathos, The Warlord, Turock, Master of Kung-fu, Dr. Strange, New Warriors, Dark Hawk.

I've never really liked any of the mutant heroes. I know it's blasphemy,

[Tekren]

I've always been a fan of Cyclops- I identify with the self-repression.
Don't laugh, I'm serious.

The Shocker: Legit kept me captivated as I read the whole thing all at once the other day, and I would pay to have it become a comic book and go into canon.
Stop laughing, I'm serious.

Luke Cage is one of the strangest written characters, alternating between down-on-his-luck hero and blaxploitation film star- I'm thinking of writing a script and sending to the Marvel in-house movie production company.
Ok, you can laugh at that, but it's still true. Cage is cool because of the bad/inconsistent writing.

... I hesitate to mention her name, but Layla Miller intrigues me. A precog/omniscient character who came from basically nowhere and is leading X-Factor at the age of, what, 15? She is a natural puppeteer who makes Tony's operations look transparent. The question isn't "what does she do"- It's "where is she leading us."

[TheMeanDM]

Let's see..."lame" characters that I like...

Blue Devil
The Trickster
Green Arrow
Swamp Thing

[....]

Deadpool 4 eva.

[Finn Solomon]

I harbour soft spots for the second Nite-Owl and The Riddler.

[doliemaster]

I also like-
Ragman and Vanguard, can't find other fands of these comics either.
I think I just get attracted to unpopular comics.

[† Dran †]

Gambit has always been one of my fav characters. Just a shame he never really gets used well anymore. Original X-men cartoon (which got me hooked on comics) had him portrayed very well imo. Would love to see a background special on him or something. Not sure if he counts as lame or not however.

Also quite a fan of Mr Sinister. Though i dont know if hes in these newer comics or not, or if he is they have changed him a lot. Loved his original look and feel even if he was rather "weak", but then Bad guys are ment to lose i guess





(admittedly i dont "collect" comic books just read what i can)