DC characters not living up to their potential

[Doc Destruction]

Corp - your sig is awesome - GREAT song.

 

[mathhater]

I don't think Superman has totally lived up to his potential. My reasoning for this is that there has yet to be an "Absolute" Superman volume, and when I try to think of a story that would make for a great "Absolute," I don't come up with much. (And I don't count "Kingdom Come." It was Superman centered, but still very much an ensemble piece.)

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, the potential was definitely there if the villains/conflicts weren't written so horribly.

While I'm at it, Lex should've kicked a powerless and kryptonite-irradiated Clark's ass. Easily. Unless, of course, his combat training from Hope and Mercy, as well as his Neron-granted physical perfection was Reality-punched away.

Knowing that would require reading comics published after 1980, so you know it was.

 

[The Batman]

All of them.

Agreed

 

[Miss Webb]

Alan Scott. has been redone and unmade so many times, most people don't even know what his real personality is anymore.

Go to GLQ Quarterly series for the REAL Alan Scott, not this joke in bad pajamas that only appeals to a few fans. Its all about bad writing and inconsistency...nearly ten freaking retcons in as many years. No wonder the guys lame...

"One of the most powerful beings around, blah blah..."
(gets taken out easily/early in fights)

"Wants to be the beacon and moral compass..."
(gets yanked out of Checkmate and Sentinels of Magic, not a GL corps member or anything else)

Has wood weakness/doesn't/does/doesn't (since '95)

Was obsessed with youth and power for years...
(now is happy going around looking old because it makes him feel comfy)

Was going to be the revamped lantern...
(but Kyle hit the scene! Revise again...)

Now made into a mentor...
(because he has no personality and they don't know what to do with him)

Used to be...
(In contention for the mantle of Fate...wanted the artifacts, and a member of a magical cabal)

Has a lot of mystical ability...
(for a guy made of wild magic he ain't doing much anymore. This wasn't always the case)

Only has willpower, no personality...
(used to be stubborn, intelligent, headstrong and ruthless)

He's just a cute, cranky coot...
(because giving him dimension takes work)

Had an unispired costume change...
(and is now reversed to an even less inspired costume. Classic, or just old and familiar?)

If you check all of Alan's appearances since the 90s, I guarantee you won't recognize the guy you're reading about now.

 

[Anubis]

I don't think Superman has totally lived up to his potential. My reasoning for this is that there has yet to be an "Absolute" Superman volume, and when I try to think of a story that would make for a great "Absolute," I don't come up with much. (And I don't count "Kingdom Come." It was Superman centered, but still very much an ensemble piece.)

No disrespect but that sounds freakin' ******ed.

 

[Varient]

....................

1. The Titan's.

You'd think All the members would be JLA class by now, (The older set of titans.)

2. Donna Troy comes across weaker than Wonder girl,....

3. Steel II,.. seriously undeveloped.


Bart Allen should not have been killed.
Kon El Should not have been killed.

Heck,... Who's next? Nightwing?

 

[mathhater]

No disrespect but that sounds freakin' ******ed.

Oh, no...no disrespect at all. But seriously...the "Absolute" stories are generally reserved for either really epic, or really great stories that deserve to be shown in a prestigious format. And Superman, while he does have a few truly excellent stories, there's nothing there to warrant such a volume. (As opposed to say, Batman, who has like 3 such stories.)

My only point was, that aside from maybe the "Death and Return," Superman hasn't yet had one story that's both epic enough and good enough that would make you crave for a definitive version of that story. And considering his role in the superhero community, he should have had such stories told by now.

 

[Anubis]

One could simply say they haven't gotten around to it yet. Superman for All Seasons is likely to get the Absolute treatment sooner or later (Seeing as the Long Halloween got one.) As could Superman: Secret Identity, Red Son, etc, etc. But that's neither here nor there, the fact is, it's still a dumb ass statement because there's lots of epic tales that haven't gotten an Absolute edition YET. (being the key word here.) Preacher, Moore's Swamp Thing, Morrison's Animal Man. They just started doing this, there's quite a bit of stuff they haven't gotten to.

So, yeah, ******ed statement.

 

[mathhater]

One could simply say they haven't gotten around to it yet. Superman for All Seasons is likely to get the Absolute treatment sooner or later (Seeing as the Long Halloween got one.) As could Superman: Secret Identity, Red Son, etc, etc. But that's neither here nor there, the fact is, it's still a dumb ass statement because there's lots of epic tales that haven't gotten an Absolute edition YET. (being the key word here.) Preacher, Moore's Swamp Thing, Morrison's Animal Man. They just started doing this, there's quite a bit of stuff they haven't gotten to.

So, yeah, ******ed statement.

*Sigh* Secret Identity, Red Son, and For All Seasons are great stories, and I could be wrong, but I don't think any of them are long enough to justify the absolute treatment. "Long Halloween" and "Hush" are very lengthy stories and the Superman stories in question aren't quite that epic in length, which was one of my concerns...that Superman does have some great stories, but most aren't really that long or epic.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

Shazam.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Good one.

I'll say Kyle.

He should definitely have his own on-going. I know I'd pick it up.

 

[Anubis]

*Sigh* Secret Identity, Red Son, and For All Seasons are great stories, and I could be wrong, but I don't think any of them are long enough to justify the absolute treatment. "Long Halloween" and "Hush" are very lengthy stories and the Superman stories in question aren't quite that epic in length, which was one of my concerns...that Superman does have some great stories, but most aren't really that long or epic.

So, wait, now you're saying that the length of the story somehow warrants the Absolute treatment? I'm sorry but that sounds even lamer.

 

[mathhater]

So, wait, now you're saying that the length of the story somehow warrants the Absolute treatment? I'm sorry but that sounds even lamer.

Actually, in my opinion, each of those stories are good enough to warrant an Absolute, and I'd love to see them presented that way no matter the length. But I just don't think that DC would sanction an Absolute edition for shorter stories. It just seems that from a company standpoint, that Absolutes are big versions of big stories, and I just don't see DC releasing Absolutes of these excellent, albeit smaller tales.

(All of the Absolute stories on the market are fairly long..."New Frontier," "Dark Knight," "Crisis," etc.)

 

[Anubis]

Kingdom Come wasn't that long. The vast majority of the Absolute is extras. Bio's for every character and sketches. Kingdom Come is about the same length as For All seasons actually. Toss in a script, some more early pencils from Sale, and you're done.

 

[mathhater]

Yeah, I can see that, I guess. I do wish DC would do something like that.

 

[Anubis]

Like I said, give it time. They'll get around to it eventually.

 

[Harlekin]

Dark Knight Returns is just as long as Kingdom Come.

 

[Anubis]

Didn't they put both Dark Knight Returns and Strikes Again in the same Absolute?

 

[3dman27]

judomaster they'e barely used him since dc bought him from charlton

 

[CLARKY]

Which DCU character(s) do you folks think is not living up to his literary potential? I'm talking guys that could be like The Batman or Superman...characters that even the Marvel diehards would give a **** about.

I'll go with Superman and Hal Jordan. But are you talking about a story in particular or the character in general ? There are tons of stories that doesn't use the potential of their character but generally speaking, I find Superman and Hal Jordan are not living up to their potential.
Aquaman as well, I agree with most of the posts about him.

 

[Harlekin]

Didn't they put both Dark Knight Returns and Strikes Again in the same Absolute?

Wow, I'm sorry for the people that bought that then.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

judomaster they'e barely used him since dc bought him from charlton

His son is kicking ass on Checkmate, at least.

 

[Anubis]

He's dead anyway. Maybe the kid will take up the mantle at some point.

 

[Anubis]

Wow, I'm sorry for the people that bought that then.

I don't know. I've considered buying it. I never read Strikes again, so I don't really know what happened for it to be seen as so horrible. If anybody would be willing to give me a rundown of the events of the book it would be much appreciated.