9. Luke Cage. New Avengers may feature Carl Lucas in the lead, but the big name heroes in the book limit his face time. I want a Cage solo series wherein our invulnerable heavy hitter from Harlem handles business on his downtime.
8. Havok. He's getting a big profile bump soon in the War of Kings event, so this would be the perfect time to spin him out into his own series again. Alex Summers has already carried Mutant X on his own and he headlined X-Factor for years. Just get him back in his classic duds before he launches his new solo book!
7. Zatanna. The Bat-books need some magic. Even with Bruce Wayne MIA right now, this classic JLA hero could interact in Gotham City in interesting ways. The Arkham Asylum crowd are used to fists and gadgets. But what if they had to fight spells instead?
6. Falcon. I had an awesome idea today -- a new Marvel Two-in-One or Marvel Team Up book featuring Falcon as the reoccurring hero. Sam Wilson can fly and talk to birds, but he needs a power upgrade to handle major threats. Solution? Use his Rolodex to boost his brawn on the battlefield.
5. Sasquatch. Marvel's Canadian heavy hitter needs a new lease on stardom. Put him in his own series where he's fighting the horror creatures of the Marvel Universe. His lighthearted attitude and love for science will contrast well with fantasy themed horror elements.
4. Psylocke. Betsy Braddock needs a new modus operandi. My suggestion? A classic kung fu street series. Have her hang with Iron Fist, fight alongside Shang-Chi, and buddy up with the Daughters of the Dragon. Bring in the X-Men now and then to boost sales.
3. Joker. A supervillain (or "super villain," as DC Comics would say) series is always a tricky thing. But the Joker is a tricky kind of guy, so it just might work. With Heath Ledger's star performance as the Clown Price of Crime, Joker's profile is higher than ever -- now just put him in his own comic book full of funny and twisted tales.
2. Storm. Lucky for me, she just finished up a mini series. But I would like to see another mini lined up, or better yet, an ongoing book for this mutant weather goddess. Give Chris Claremont the writing assignment and put Aaron Lopresti on art duties.
1. Aquaman. Plain and simple. The classic DC Comics water hero, Arthur Curry. He's one of the big guns and he needs to get his own title, even if it's just a mini series! Ride that seahorse, baby, ride!!!
More: The Top 9 Marvel Universe Characters That Have Stepped Up Since Civil War!
Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.
So, Strauss and I used to be into this anime called One Piece (actually, it was on Cartoon Network for a while too). It moved at a glacial pace, but it was entertaining at the time.
In any case, there was a pretty large rogues gallery of villi ans and our favorite was Captain Buggy - who did everything 'flashily'. At some point the series dropped Buggy's storyline and we ceased to hear from him for a while.
Then, a few (or maybe 20, One Piece is looooong) episodes later, we got a short story arc centering on the adventures of Buggy after Luffy (the protagonist) kicks his ass. It was the highlight of the series for me. Buggy was fucking awesome. Everything needs to be more flashy.
The point is, super villains definitely deserve their own books - and the Joker would be a great start. I've said it plenty of times before, super villains are way more compelling than their goody two shoes nemeses.
Also. Who is NEAL SHAARA aka Thunderbolt - and why have you not told me more about this dude?? He looks like a low rent Iron-Man. Also, Homie has a shitty superhero name. Everyone knows that Indra throws thunder and lightning bolts. Agni is a much more fitting name. Sigh... I'm kind of disappointed by that.
it's not like supervillains never get their own titles, but there are few that last very long. Marvel used to have Super-Villain Team-Up, and Catwoman had her own book for years (though she was towing the line between good and bad then). but mos villain books are limited series. Joker just had his own graphic novel, which is great and all. but i'm talking about an ongoing narrative where i can really get to know his motivation.
as for Neal Shaara a.k.a. Thunderbird (not Thunderbolt), i've told you about him before. in fact, i think i even told you about him in one of our really early podcasts. he's an X-character that was on the team in the late 90s / early 00s. he can shoot fiery plasma sort of stuff. he's normally called Thunderbird III since he's the third character to have the name. the first two were American Indians while Neal is Indian. the transfer of that name can be kind of interesting or really lame depending on how you look at it.
AudioShocker Shoutouts!
thunderbird. thunderbolt. whatever. still poorly named.
Thunderbird has a better ring to it than 'IP-maintenance-man.'
Get the X-books in respectable shape before spin-offs! Groan!