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I've been thinking a lot about the comics made recently and have been have been distraught over the lack of character developments made. every storyline and arc just seems to be more of the same. its like I just wish that both houses would delve a little deeper, into some of the more obscure characters backgrounds. for example, remember spiderman the end, where the symbiote was saying how parker was the reason he did all those things, how he was just an alien who felt alone and peter just discarded him.

that's the type of characterization im talking about. that's why I created this thread, for us to discuss which character would you like to see more utilized

RAY TERRILLLLLLLLLL!!!!

Brand New Day.

Originally posted by Bentley
Brand New Day.

what happened? I haven't read spiderman since the deal with mephisto?

You seem to be talking about new revelations, not simply character development, which there is plenty of.

In any given comic, no real development will take place. We're talking about maybe 22 pages, with considerably less dialogue than your average 22-page book, article, anything. But over the course of months, years, and with multiple titles, most characters change immeasurably, though with many of the more iconic characters it's hard to "change" them without infuriating fans.

For example: look at Tony Stark 5 years ago, then today. Wildly different character. And that's just a small example. Mary Marvel, for another amusing example. So I'd first recommend not looking for it in the flagship characters of the company, because the companies won't change something that sells. The Spider-Man's, Superman's, etc. of the world will largely be the same in 20 years as they are today. Necessity demands it.

But outside of such constraints for a select few characters, comics offer character development matched by few, if any, other mediums. And it's because they have such a long time span to work with, multiple writers bringing their spin to a character, and a myriad characters to draw from and use.

ok I see mary marvels turn for the worst is entertaining yet predictable. dc has been setting that up since she ran into black adam at that museum.

I mean like human torch for example, he's still playing the same role he always has, of the kid brother. where as other characters like tony as you've mentioned have "matured".

I would just like to see a different side and not just from the heroic stand point. I read marvel because its more down to earth with characters I can more easily relate to.

sometimes id just like to see more real life drama, maybe depression from all the good heroes do yet still have to fight everyday or what motivates a villain say like rhino.. to keep trying despite continual upsets

when I read dc I have to set more of an escapist attitude, because their characters are so god like. yet they should still have a defeatus attitude since everything seems so futile.

if like to see more of the heroes toe the line

Captain America on Brubaker's run

Originally posted by willRules
Captain America on Brubaker's run

dying = character development?

Says a fan of Superman..

Originally posted by Martian_mind
Says a fan of Superman..

he didn't have to die for development.

development =/= publicity.

To me the best example of character development is Dick Grayson.....he is unique in the sense that he has grown up with us....i don't think there will ever be a character like him...you might get some back story and history from time to time with certain characters...but Nightwing is and will be the best example of character development ever..im.o

Originally posted by starlock
To me the best example of character development is Dick Grayson.....he is unique in the sense that he has grown up with us....i don't think there will ever be a character like him...you might get some back story and history from time to time with certain characters...but Nightwing is and will be the best example of character development ever..im.o

aye. i think the x-men have to be included too. they all started out as teens, and now they're older than most of us...

Originally posted by Raoul
aye. i think the x-men have to be included too. they all started out as teens, and now they're older than most of us...

I agree...... they do have some great development.....but they do suffer from writers taking to many liberties...so though its development...i think they dont go about it as well as they have for Nightwing/Grayson...but yes there are some really good ones in the x-men.

Originally posted by starlock
I agree...... they do have some great development.....but they do suffer from writers taking to many liberties...so though its development...i think they dont go about it as well as they have for Nightwing/Grayson...but yes there are some really good ones in the x-men.

aye, thats true. for some x-men, its well done, for some, its awful.

Originally posted by Raoul
dying = character development?

The past 45 issues of Captain America have not been about Steve Rogers but Bucky Barnes. So yeah Cap has developed as a character, going from WW2 icon, dying and then returning as an ex soviet assassin, reformed as the symbol of American patriotism

Originally posted by willRules
The past 45 issues of Captain America have not been about Steve Rogers but Bucky Barnes. So yeah Cap has developed as a character, going from WW2 icon, dying and then returning as an ex soviet assassin, reformed as the symbol of American patriotism

i was teasing.

but yeah, bucky has grown, i just don't consider him to be THE cap. he's like, a sub...

Originally posted by Raoul
i was teasing.

but yeah, bucky has grown, i just don't consider him to be THE cap. he's like, a sub...

Meh, I would jump to Cap's defence but being British, I feel I should be rooting for the latest Cap Britain series (which is fantastic by the way, just bought the new series in trade)

Originally posted by willRules
Meh, I would jump to Cap's defence but being British, I feel I should be rooting for the latest Cap Britain series (which is fantastic by the way, just bought the new series in trade)

lol. i never got in to captain britain, not cos i'm irish, he just never really appealed to me the way other comics did. and i much prefer x-men anyways...

Well I highly recommend the new series

the thing that pissed me off about is that they didn't just let captain america die. I loved winter soldier as winter soldier not captain america. bucky could have become the nightwing of marvel instead of another substitute character, the stars and stripes don't suit him imo.

Originally posted by Sin I AM
the thing that pissed me off about is that they didn't just let captain america die. I loved winter soldier as winter soldier not captain america. bucky could have become the nightwing of marvel instead of another substitute character, the stars and stripes don't suit him imo.

I initially felt exactly the same way, I loved the Winter Soldier character and wanted Hawkeye to be the new Cap but Brubaker's doing such a great job with Bucky and the stories are so good, I'm struggling to stay annoyed.

yea true but the nostalgic flashbacks are ruining it for me, I think it would have went against the status quo to just allow "captain america" to be dead for a little while. maybe give bucky his own book, and not as cap but as himself, imo his character didn't have enough time to grow. (he couldve kept the shield though) I really enjoyed the reaction the super hero community gave him, the back and forth was great

Some of the best character development, i have ever read in comics over a short period of time, where Morison Wheel dons respective runs on X-men. Until i read these I couldn't give a shit about the likes of Beast, Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde, Xorn, Cyclops. Now they are some of my favorite characters, ever. Mann id love to see that Fantom eX charcater appear in a comic again, he was bad ass !

...I don't like the dude, but I hope they finally do something interesting with Sentry's character during or immediately following Dark Reign.

Oh, and Gladiator. Looks like he'll be having a Supes vs. Zod type fight in Kingbreaker 3 or 4, with one of his own race. Might be cool. Give him some more depth and backstory.

meh the incident with punisher had me cringing a bit, I really hoped marvel wouldn't play the whole superman card but low and behold it was clark all the way

gladiator is a character id like to see explored more seriously, if also like to know what's been going on with rogue and it'd be nice if they'd explore the relationship between iceman and mystique.. there seems to be more there than a simple vendetta

Originally posted by Sin I AM
meh the incident with punisher had me cringing a bit

What happened there? I don't follow Punisher, so...

Originally posted by Enyalus
What happened there? I don't follow Punisher, so...


norman osborne is some press conference, frank is like 4 or 5 miles away looking thru the scope of a high powered sniper rifle, he shoots, then the golden guardian of good stops the bullet between his fingers. after an attempt to arrest frank, he escapes...its pretty gay and im a girl. the artwork and narration was splendid though

Originally posted by Sin I AM
norman osborne is some press conference, frank is like 4 or 5 miles away looking thru the scope of a high powered sniper rifle, he shoots, then the golden guardian of good stops the bullet between his fingers. after an attempt to arrest frank, he escapes...its pretty gay and im a girl. the artwork and narration was splendid though

lol...I see. That does sound too "Superman-esque."

the thing that annoys me is that I can see them setting him up to be a clone. when I heard he was gonna be on the dark avengers squad I was like "yes ! finally he can unleash!" but he just looks like normans bodyguard. its still early in the arc so hopefully he shows that bad asserery that was displayed when fighting doom or "killing"carnage

Originally posted by Sin I AM
yea true but the nostalgic flashbacks are ruining it for me, I think it would have went against the status quo to just allow "captain america" to be dead for a little while. maybe give bucky his own book, and not as cap but as himself, imo his character didn't have enough time to grow. (he couldve kept the shield though) I really enjoyed the reaction the super hero community gave him, the back and forth was great

This is true. I really liked the winter soldier and he had a cool costume.Now he just annoys me as Cap.


ps. Though this is almost certainly because I'm a rabid, rabid Steve Rogers fan.

hell yea ! I love steve rogers because written correctly he was such a deep character... always fighting the good fight


buckys costume did rock though

I dunno. I liked the chainmail look over the ultra-glossy shit Bucky has on.

Originally posted by Sin I AM
hell yea ! I love steve rogers because written correctly he was such a deep character... always fighting the good fight


buckys costume did rock though

Totally agree but I like where Brubaker's taken it. Cap's problem was that he was always right, and on the extremely few occasions he was wrong, he dug his heels in anyway. He was out of touch with the rest of America because compared to Cap, everyone's morally bankrupt. His death was inevitable If history's taught us anything, we kill the guy we disagree with, especially if they are in the right.

With Bucky we get a whole new set of problems. We get someone who obviously has issues but is desperately trying to live up to the expectations of his mentor (Morally, mentally and physically).

I stopped collecting Captain America about 2 issues ago...i just was not enjoying it....as good as brubaker is....it is a inferior comic next to when steve was cap....i dont think bucky's development was even done good.....from his appearance as winter soldier to taking over as cap...i was not impressed.....i put him in the same category as red hood......useless to be brought back...but served a better purpose dead

I can see the comparison your making with jason todd from one standpoint however, there is a cosmetic difference imo. jasons death served Batmans mythos and helped define his character more. to me it showed the futility of his crusade, weighing the odds of having a partner, against the threat of losing another loved one. whereas buckys death imo didn't define steve as much.

yes he was just a kid like jason and yes they were both close, but being in the military myself death of a friend in combat between fellow soldiers is more readily accepted, its part of the job. seeing how as your primary mission is go kill the opposing forces. where in Batmans line of work its unacceptable.

when bucky came back as winter soldier, up until his realisation of who he was by the cosmic cube there was more of a mystery about him than the red hood. and I see where brubacker is going with him trying to appease caps wish but I believe cap wouldve wanted moreso for him to be his own man

i have to say, i thought jason's return was nothing short of brilliant. was it a little cheap? maybe. silly retcon. but it was well executed, imo...

cheap? naw, I just wish he'd kept the red hood persona. sorta like a dc version of punisher. and had him off some major villains instead of this red robin crap, that costume is horrid.

Originally posted by Raoul
i have to say, i thought jason's return was nothing short of brilliant. was it a little cheap? maybe. silly retcon. but it was well executed, imo...

Well executed? Like when he turned into a gianted shapeshifting tentical monster!

Originally posted by Sin I AM
cheap? naw, I just wish he'd kept the red hood persona. sorta like a dc version of punisher. and had him off some major villains instead of this red robin crap, that costume is horrid.

he's not red robin anymore...

Originally posted by srankmissingnin
Well executed? Like when he turned into a gianted shapeshifting tentical monster!

before that. uhuh

Jason's reintroduction was brilliant.Hell,when he's being done right he's by far the most interesting of the Bat family.

brilliant..kinda strong id say refreshing, but thats your opinion. but nightwing is more interesting imo

Nightwing is more interesting to me, too...


I was just kinda jealous that he got to *ahem* Huntress.

Well,to each his own.I kinda find Nightwing to be rather bland.

Though i'm more jealous of Tim *aheming* Spoiler.though that's probably an age thing.

Originally posted by Raoul
i have to say, i thought jason's return was nothing short of brilliant. was it a little cheap? maybe. silly retcon. but it was well executed, imo...

I completly agree.

i actually prefer Nightwing to Jason, but Nightwing's series hasn't been the best for the last while, imo, while Jason seems to have more good appearances than bad ones...

I pray they don't have him battling for the cowl, I hope he will remain nightwing

Originally posted by Sin I AM
I pray they don't have him battling for the cowl, I hope he will remain nightwing

Well assuming there will be a new Batman, like ign said, 9/10 fans would want Dick Grayson.

All of the "Battling for the Cowl" is kind of pointless seeing as how Bruce is still alive, and it's just a matter of time till he returns to be Batman again.

nightwing should remain nightwing. noone can replace bruce. just like bucky will never be steve.

Originally posted by tjcoady
All of the "Battling for the Cowl" is kind of pointless seeing as how Bruce is still alive, and it's just a matter of time till he returns to be Batman again.
Bruce didn't need to be shown alive to know that.
Originally posted by Raoul
i have to say, i thought jason's return was nothing short of brilliant. was it a little cheap? maybe. silly retcon. but it was well executed, imo...
lol @ maybe cheap

The guy was punched alive.

you know who'd I also like to see mature, johnny storm. he's practically been the same character since I was a little girl

Originally posted by Sin I AM
you know who'd I also like to see mature, johnny storm.

I want to see Magneto repowered, but that probably won't happen either.

Originally posted by Enyalus
I want to see Magneto re-powered, but that probably won't happen either.

Magneto definitely will be. He's the definitive X-threat and so he will eventually be re-powered to be a threat.

Johnny Storm's far less likely to have some character development. He did develop slightly in the 90's with the whole issue with Lyja, but he seemed to revert to his old self after a while.....

speaking of the F4

it would be nice to see them taking a darker tone. especially seeing as how they're a family that's constantly being attacked. Id like to see one or both children kidnapped. with clues purposefully leading them to believe it could be either a super villain or hero or government agency behind the abduction. to me it would give them more substance. kinda like a "Family In Crisis" storyline, which too me would peak more interest than Sue and Reed simply having marital problems. Have Sue go to Namor and Doom for help as it appears that Reeds efforts are useless, with Johnny and Ben getting a little punisher action in with questioning the bad guys. Sorta like a Black Marvel Family thing, show the world why they are the first family, that'd b awesome

I really don't care about Valeria, but can someone please, please torture, sodomize, and kill Franklin? Please?

Marvel lease the rights to Dr. Light from DC for like, two months?

Originally posted by Sin I AM
speaking of the F4

it would be nice to see them taking a darker tone. especially seeing as how they're a family that's constantly being attacked. Id like to see one or both children kidnapped. with clues purposefully leading them to believe it could be either a super villain or hero or government agency behind the abduction. to me it would give them more substance. kinda like a "Family In Crisis" storyline, which too me would peak more interest than Sue and Reed simply having marital problems. Have Sue go to Namor and Doom for help as it appears that Reeds efforts are useless, with Johnny and Ben getting a little punisher action in with questioning the bad guys. Sorta like a Black Marvel Family thing, show the world why they are the first family, that'd b awesome

I don't really like the FF, but I'd read that

does anyone know what's going on with magnus?