Comments on: Top 50 DC Characters #40-36

By: cindercatz

cindercatz — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:00:02 +0000

I voted for Ronnie Raymond Firestorm. Great to see him make the list, especially since he practically disappeared for so many years before he was unceremoniously killed off and replaced. (People complain about the Dibnies, but Ronnie's murder was the one event that shook my enjoyment of Identity Crisis. I feel there was nothing gained there.) His brief return in the Jason Roush series further reminded me just how much I loved Firestorm. Jason's series was a fun enough read for most of the time I read it, at least after the slow start of the first five issues or so, but the only times I truly enjoyed him was in bouncing his character off Gehenna (if I remember the name), who was a quicker hit for me, and his struggles to face Ronnie's old enemies.

By: Cynthia Finnegan

Cynthia Finnegan — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:59:02 +0000

Three minor corrections on Black Adam. First, the artist who created him was Pete Costanza, not Beck. Second, it was in the 70's SHAZAM series (# 28, written by E. Nelson Bridwell and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger) where it was revealed that Adam's powers came from Egyptian gods. His powers were as follows:

Shu - Stamina
Hershef - Strength. Hershef was the Egyptian version of Hercules.
Amon - Power. Served the same capacity as Zeus.
Zehuti (Thoth) - Wisdom
Anpu - Speed. Anpu was the god's name before Alexander the Great changed it.
Menthu - Courage. Menthu was Egypt's war god.

And third, it was Geoff Johns who changed the gods Adam got his powers from, not Jerry Ordway.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:49:06 +0000

While I agree post 52 Black Adam has moved much more to the black side, it was his greyness before the end which put him so high on my list (#2 behind the Joker).

The other thing I did not mention in my write up on why I selected him is while, yes, he is not as in between as he was previously, I like the fact that how they sent him over the edge makes him basically heartbroken and insane. He dared to love and create a family, complete himself... and lost it all. I could write all day long on Black Adam and the Supremeverse. Thanks for including my view on Black Adam Brian!

By: Steve T

Steve T — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:09:54 +0000

Glad to see two more people I voted for(Black Adam & Slade Wilson)made it.

I think they're two of the most consistently well written villains of DC Comics.And interesting emotional characters,to boot.With material like Adam & his wife.And Slade and his children.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:28:26 +0000

"I mean the Flashes? The Green Lanterns? Cool iconic costumes, interesting enough powers, but completely uninteresting as characters (outside of Guy). Far too cookie cutter, by the numbers stuff that no writer has yet been able to push most of these characters into the sublime for me." Hal Jordan I'll give you, but seriously? Did you just entirely miss Waid's run on The Flash? Marz's run on Green Lantern? Geoff Johns' runs on both? The idea that Wally West is in any way "cookie cutter" baffles me. If I had voted for this poll, West, Kyle Rayner, and John Stewart would all be in the top 10.

By: Sean

Sean — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:24:31 +0000

Thank guys! i really like alan alot, that explaination was straight from the heart

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 20:53:55 +0000

Yay! Yorick was on my list, and I am happy to see him here. He is such a great POV character for his strange world, and he always thinks of the clever thing that I wish I was smart enough to come up with under pressure. Plus, he's just so darn likeable.

By: Seamus G

Seamus G — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:46:45 +0000

Hmm, interesting. The first Vertigo character (and second Vaughn creation after Molly) to make the list.

By: Patrick Zircher

Patrick Zircher — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:42:54 +0000

Alan Scott/Green Lantern just missed my list. I really like the character and even drew him (along with Batman in Detective Comics) for a few months. What appeals to me is that same thing posted in the some of the other comments, his gentlemanly nature. There's a sense of class and respect for the character, without snobbery-- like the superhero version of a classic Hollywood movie star.
Still, it's probably some of the archaic conventions surrounding Alan Scott that slipped him into that 11 to 20 instead of 1 to 10 list of personal faves. Primarily that damn susceptibility to wood.

By: sgt pepper

sgt pepper — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:45:09 +0000

These lists are making me realize just how much more I love the Marvel characters than DC's.

I mean the Flashes? The Green Lanterns? Cool iconic costumes, interesting enough powers, but completely uninteresting as characters (outside of Guy). Far too cookie cutter, by the numbers stuff that no writer has yet been able to push most of these characters into the sublime for me.

By: Mullon

Mullon — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:20:54 +0000

You didn't mention how cool Deathstroke was on the Teen Titans cartoon. He was one of the best things about it.

By: stephen cade

stephen cade — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:06:03 +0000

Good to see Alan Scott make it--I listed him in my top ten so in that way his placin seems a bit low--but I was also expecting him to be lower or miss the list once everybody voted...

By: suedenim

suedenim — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:54:00 +0000

I find it interesting that there are two characters (Deathstroke and Black Adam) on the list that were once fascinating "grey area" characters, but are at present rather boringly one-dimensional bad guys. I wouldn't vote for either in their present states, but both have been pretty fascinating characters.

By: Hondo

Hondo — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:16:21 +0000

All great characters. I had forgotten about Deathstroke. He still wouldn't have made my top 10 but he's a power hitter.

Firestorm Jason Rausch is at least more interesting than Ronnie Raymond.

I like the whole Namor / Black Adam thing. It suddenly occured to me a few months back that the two were fairly similar and then I enjoyed him even more.

GL - Great write up ! Gives me new perspective on a great Golden Age character. Guess I hadn't realized he had seniority on Bruce. Would that have been Earth-2 Bruce ?

By: M Bloom

M Bloom — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:36:20 +0000

Alan Scott almost made my list, but ultimately got bumped in favor of one of my favorite Legionnaires. Good to see he still made the list.

By: J. Kevin Carrier

J. Kevin Carrier — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:50:32 +0000

"Later on, under Jerry Ordway, we learned that when Adam says â€œShazam,â€ he is getting power from Egyptian gods, gaining the stamina of Shu, the swiftness of Heru (Horus), the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, the power of Aton, and the courage of Mehen."
--
I'm pretty sure it was E. Nelson Bridwell who came up with Adam's god-list, back in the '70s SHAZAM series.

By: Alex D

Alex D — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:47:42 +0000

I didn't have room in my top ten, but I'm relieved to see both Jay Garrick and Alan Scott make the list. Good to see Yorick in the top 40 too.

By: Niels van Eekelen

Niels van Eekelen — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 09:42:52 +0000

It's funny--for me, 52 basically took all of the gray out of Black Adam. He was built up fantastically in JSA. Black Reign was a fascinating storyline because despite his methods, Black Adam clearly seemed to be in the right, while the JSA--so sure of their own righteousness--became the villains in their own book. Black Adam liberated his homeland, just like any superhero would do for America if there was a bloody military dictatorship, and his people justly loved him for it.

But post-52, Black Adam is just a genocidal madman who wouldn't even surprise me if he went into an orpanage and ate all the children.

By: Anthony Strand

Anthony Strand — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:02:29 +0000

Good choices (although I'm not crazy about Deathstroke), and props to Sean for the great explanation on Alan Scott. He was so close to making my top ten. And while I'd agree that he's definitely more serious and revered than Jay, I think that difference allows the two to complement each other perfectly. If Jay is the warm grandfather of the DCU (I know, I used that in my bit yesterday, but that's how I think of him), Alan is the sterner father figure. They're my favorite double act in the DCU, rivaled only by Booster and Beetle.

By: Cei-U!

Cei-U! — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 04:39:31 +0000

One quick correction:

Alan Scott was a *civil* engineer. He was aboard that train to test the trestle he'd designed for his then-employer, the Hall Company (cf. All-American Comics #17).