March 2015 Question #1

[kybearfuzz]

Asked by fellow comic book fan maxauburn:

"Who are your favorite super heroes- and why?"

My all-time favorite hero is probably Wonder Woman. My first comic book ever was Wonder Woman #250, bought for me by my older cousins Stephanie and Debbie in 1978. It cost a quarter. With Wonder Woman being on live TV and in cartoon form on "Super Friends," I was immediately drawn to her. It was fun to watch and fun to read. The transformation spin would run me dizzy. Her strength, speed, ability to deflect bullets, and have a cool lasso made her easy to mimic.

I always enjoyed the link to Greek mythology. When George Perez revamped her in the 1980s, I fell in love with her all over again. The current version in the DC's New 52 is a travesty of the character, in my opinion.

I have other favorite heroes, usually finding one on every team, like Star Boy in the Legion of Super-Heroes, Angel in the X-Men, The Scarlet Witch in the Avengers, Mirage in the New Mutants, The Flash in the JSA, etc. Each one for different reasons. If I kept on, the entry would be too long to read. :)

So which ones are yours?

March is question month. If you would like to ask me anything, go here.

Comments

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

My favorite heroes?

Astroboy, and yes, he was in comic books as far back as 1951 in Japan.

He's brave and strong, and helps others. A terrific role model!

Prince Planet, also in Manga. Brave, helpful, and, like Astro, is willing to risk his life to save a stranger.

Cannonball, aka Sam Guthrie, is brave and rather modest about his abilities.

Illyana Rasputin- she has all that power- yet has massive self doubts. Insecure, yet she's someone that you would want to fight side by side with in battle.

Spider-Man - not as he is now, but the way he was written by Stan Lee, back in 1963 which was when I first started reading comics. Peter Parker has insecurities, and blames his alter ego, Spider-Man for ruining his personal life- yet he still soldiers on. He has learned the lesson that, along with great power, must comer great responsibility - in a painful manner, when his Uncle Ben died because he had failed to stop a criminal when he had the chance.

Kitty Pryde of The X- Men. Again, a brave, resourceful, and intelligent woman- and strong. I like her for all of these traits.

Rogue- not as she is now, but as she was around 1984, when she still had the Ms. Marvel powers. Oh my God, could she ever kick ass! She was tortured by Coral Danvers' memories.
She would sometimes be taken over by Carol's strong personality. Rogue started off as a villain, but reformed, and became likable, and highly respected by her fellow X-Men.

Ultra Boy. Did you think I was going to leave out the LSH? No way!

Ultra Boy is strong, intelligent, resourceful and very determined.
He has to be, because as you already know, he has all the powers of Superman- but can only use them one at a time.

This is also what makes him most interesting.
He has to always think about his next move, and anticipate what power he'll need to use, and to consider his options once he's switched to that power. I have always been most fond of characters who must think their way out of a problem, instead of just punching their way out.

There's also the three teens that make up Teen Force:

Elektra, Moleculad, and Kid Comet. I hate how they were allowed to just fade away, so I use them in the Champions, but Elektra is called Samantha. Same powers, though very different treatment of the character, to make her more interesting. I also gave Molecular and Kid Comet families sand back stories, as I did with Samantha. (Elektra.)

Karate Kid- from the years 1966 to 1984. A fighter. A warrior who is brave, strong and fearless.
I so wish I were more like that!

Ferro Lad- a mutant who hides his non human face behind a mask. He could turn into a nearly invulnerable isotope of iron. He took a bomb into the heart of the Sun Eater and sacrificed his life to save our galaxy. I think our lives should definitely have meaning, but so should our deaths.

Batman. Well, he's the Batman! A hero with no super powers, except for his own iron will and wits. An intelligent, driven man, who is haunted by having seen both his parents gunned down while he was a child.

Superman. Well, who wouldn't want to have his powers?He is proof that one can be super powerful, yet be super caring and responsible with those great powers.

Daniel Moonstar- I love her character. Smart, caring, resourceful, proud, and brave. I would like to see her handled properly- which she hasn't been in many years.

I could go on and on- but those are the first ones who come to mind.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

What I know about comics is gleaned from reading your blog. I wish you had been writing and drawing when I was a kid and I might have developed an interest in them.

My question: Do you have a favorite character you've created?

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

Apart from Wonder Woman, the only one you mention that I have heard of is The Flash, though I don't know anything about him.

Sometimes I wonder if I should be allowed to call myself gay?

[dendren.livejournal.com]

I have other favorite heroes, usually finding one on every team, like Star Boy in the Legion of Super-Heroes, Angel in the X-Men, The Scarlet Witch in the Avengers, Mirage in the New Mutants, The Flash in the JSA, etc

You know what really stands out to me on this list is how of these characters, only Star Boy is (mostly) untouched from years past. Well, maybe the last New Mutants run "fixed" Mirage a bit too now that I think about it. But Scarlet Witch, Golden Age Flash, and Angel all don't even remotely resemble the characters I loved in the past. the recent characterization of Scarlet Witch is terrible, and I hate that they retconned her and Pietro to not be Magneto's children.

oh, and agreed on Wonder Woman since the new 52. The upcoming NEW DC doesn't look like it will bring back much fun either. tho... I do like her upcoming new costume design I have to admit. Too bad the stories haven't been that good :P