Didn’t Blue Jay die in one of James Robinson’s first issues of JLA?

Never mind. Apparently, I need to read Robinson’s Twitter account more faithfully.

http://twitter.com/JamesDRobinson/status/5092158209

I’ve always had a fondness for the (comic book) Rangers.

Surely Diamondback from the Serpent Society merits at least an honorable mention.

Where’s Diamondback?

Well, aside from Angel,I drew a complete blank trying to guess where this is going.

Although I was expecting a mention of Lone Wolf and CUB.

I was kinda thinking the Sub-Mariner, Giant Man, Astro Boy, the Wonder Twins, White Tiger, or Bronze Tiger.

The first character I thought of when I saw this title was Diamondback. I figured Angel would be #1, even though Diamondback would be my first choice.

So I got excited when I saw Angel was only 4th, figuring my favorite ex-girlfriend of Cap would top the list. And then nothing! Not even an honorable mention? This is a disgrace! (commences kicking dirt on Brian’s shoes.)

Holy crap, baseball still exists?

I was also expecting both Giant-Man and the Sub-Mariner.

I figured that there were enough direct matches so that I didn’t need to stretch for partial matches like Giant-Man and Sub-Mariner.

Diamondback should be an honorable mention, though. I meant to include her – I wonder why I forgot?

Nice idea. I wonder if it could be expanded for other sports – I tried thinking of a few superheroes that share their names with NBA teams, but only came up with Hornet, Grizzly, Timberwolf and Magic.

Blue Jay was ALMOST killed off by.. um.. wait, what was that Robinson story about again? Was it Prometheus?

Am I seeing things? Diamondback is #5 on the list. Why is everyone asking for her?

Am I seeing things? Diamondback is #5 on the list. Why is everyone asking for her?

People reminded me that I should have added her, so I added her.

I remember Diamondback and always loved her. She got a vote from me a couple years ago when you did the Top 100 Marvel characters poll. Sadly, when you published the near-complete list later on, she still wasn’t on there, even in the 300′s. Which means I was the only one to vote for her. *Sigh* She was awesome when Gruenwald was writing her as Cap’s main love interest….

Wow, we’re REALLY reaching now with the “top 5 comics whatevers” idea. What’s next, The Top Five Comic Characters Named After Breeds Of Dogs?”

Not that it wasn’t funny. Just Sayin’.

Diamondback wants to nail the entire Serpent Society? What a skank:)

Like you said, if you don’t get Diamondback, then it probably is because you didn’t read Gruenwald’s run. He really turned her into a great character. It’s a shame she faded back into obscurity after that.
Oh, and really… Blue Jay DEFINITELY trumps Angel for the third spot. He probably should have trumped Rocky for the #2 spot as well!!!

What about Dolphin? She was the first character I thought of when I saw this list. The Miami Dolphins and all.

The Dolphins are a football team.

Ummm..MLB stands for major league baseball and Miami Dolphins play football. I realize and respect my mistake. My favorite sporting event is Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling. This has lead to much confusion.

What about the Artful Dodger from the Classics Illustrated version of Oliver Twist?

How can you call Red the lamest of the Challengers ? He was a real trail blazer. He died in 1967 and came back to life just four issues later – as a villain ! And then he was blinded ! And then miraculously cured within 6 months. This was around a quarter of a century before DC instigated those kind of “improvements” as a regular policy. He’s pretty much a template for the modern DC hero.

Plus, he was pretty much a jerk in all of his appearances. And don’t get me started on the bratty hip kid brother he acquired after ten years of not having any family.

And yet Red Ryan was very cool in The New Frontier. Maybe having a writer who actually likes the character makes a big difference. Not that all of the Challs weren’t very cool in The New Frontier. And even there, Rocky and Ace were the coolest. But Red was fun, too, not lame like in the old Challs books.

Gruenwald’s Cap was great, and I did love Diamondback in that run.

What about Mr. A?

(And surely there have been some Jetsons comics…)

(And surely there have been some Jetsons comics…)

I also realized while reading this that no baseball team is called the Batmen. It’s probably for the best.