What characters in your opinion generally get written below their full potential?
Please don't name characters who have some low-showings but otherwise get plenty of good showings and respect from writers (IE: Thor, Superman, Hulk, etc).
It doesn't even have to necessarily be about power/combat showings.
For instance one of my choices is R'as Al Ghul. The guy is billed as Batman's most dangerous foe and has been plotting and scheming for centuries and yet aside from a few instances like Tower of Babel he's never really shown being the global threat that he should be.
For the same reasons I'd also name Apocalypse. I'm not close to a fan of the guy, I hate his design and his personality is irksome, but I recognize that the guy isn't generally given the respect by his writers that he should given his billing as R'as Al Ghul on steroids with Celestial technology.
Marvel Ares is another. I hate that they make the God of War a Meta.
Sodam Yat. Nuff said.
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“Where the longleaf pines are whispering
to him who loved them so.
Where the faint murmurs now dwindling
echo o’er tide and shore."
-A Grave Epitaph in Santa Rosa County, Florida; I wish I could remember the man's name.
Wonder Man. I think the source of his power, ionic energy, is something that could be further explored and developed to make Simon a lot more than a flying brick type. He's almost always guaranteed to be a second stringer to Thor, and I think Simon should be elevated to a higher tier than what he's typically shown as.
Gender: Male Location: I'm not giving my name to a machine
I kind of liked that Ares didn't have some kind of war based powers. The idea that he was a combat savant was pretty cool to me for some reason. That and he busted through a time bubble or something to get at Nate Grey. It's like he just didn't care. Sort of like a smarter, cooler version of Juggernaut.
__________________ Originally posted by -Pr- a great big penis.
The dude is a Damamite, so his baseline physical stats should be on par with Superman... Plus he's got-damn ION, which should put him above even the most elite Green Lanterns. The dude really should be nigh-unbeatable, all things considered. But sadly, that's just not how he's been written. Ever.
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"I am tired of Earth. These people.
I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives."
Apocalypse. Destined to rule Marvel earth in several alternate timelines, and has a powerset that, if written properly, should be damn near broken IMO. Instead, they got him so wrapped up in the whole "uber schemer who really wins if he loses" deal, that he just comes off as a jobber. Plus, why are the damn X-Men his main foils? This guy should be one of the big dogs in Marvel, not some small-time villain.
Any character that doesn't have to be "cool" to be interesting.
I would have said Hank Pym, but now that doesn't really count.
Colossus. The man should be a top tier meta and one of the most powerful X-Men (on their regular teams), but he's a bit player half the time.
Red Tornado
Catwoman
Geo-Force (Dan Didio, learn to write motherf*cker)
Lots of really good ones named so far. I'd add two evil scientists:
Leader (and anyone else who is supposed to be smarter than any human, yet has NOTHING on Reed, Doom, Pym, Stark, etc.)
Zarrko (has conquered the world, travels through time, has impressive robotics skilled and is a master of temporal summoning; he could be an awesome antagonist, he just needs some tuning up)
Balder the Brave: Balder should be portrayed as a low-herald, imo. As the God of Light, that title should be explored more often, as well as his invincibility to all but mistletoe in Asgard. When he was revealed to be a Son of Odin and inherited the throne, I personally would have liked to see him get an amp of some sort.