How was Spider-Man not unique and imaginative when he debuted?
Daredevil? Wolverine?
People have envisioned flying or being strong since antiquity, but who has imagined using echolocation like a bat to get around (Daredevil) or spikes coming from their hands when they get angry (Wolverine), or walking up a smooth wall as if it had rungs like a ladder (Spider-Man)?
Gonna have to disagree with your assessment as a result, P.R.
It ignores completely how revolutionary some of these guys were when 1st introduced decades ago.
Marvel, arguably, had a LOT more such characters than DC.
I completely agree that time period has to be taken into account, but entirely disagree with your Marvel favoritism here.
There's no way to tell. Even Superman was original back when he debuted. Aquaman? Wonder Woman (any Woman at that time was crazy original)? Green Lantern?
Both companies had very original characters when they started. Both have stolen enormously from the other. If you forced me to choose, I'd say DC because they're older and therefore probably had a few more completely original ideas.
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"And then there was nothing. A once broken something now void.
And on the first day, Doom spoke... 'Be.'
And then there was life."
Considering the mainstream universes, it's become balanced now that DCU has reincorporated the vertigo characters as IMO they are what DC has of most unique and imaginitive. Without them I'd say Marvel and in my personal opinion DC relies on recycling its own character concepts too much, althguoh Marvel has taken thsi route a lot in recent years.
Sorry I didn't clarify. I'm not really speaking of the characters that have been around since the beginning, because, of course, there were plenty of ideas that had never been tapped.
Rather, without having to get too specific, I am looking at the abilities of these companies to continue generating new, fresh, cool, creative ideas. Which can't be an easy task these days.
So, yeah, I am actually talking about the continuing "character mills".
Once the comic book genre started getting some real attention and receiving a lot of interest, new companies were falling out of the sky. With that, a LOT of previously untapped ideas were put on page.
With this in mind, I would say, going back 10 or 15 years, I would like to see some of your opinions.
Criteria could be:
Appearance/Design-
(Which companies seem to be able to keep pumping out original, imaginitive looking characters?)
Powers/Abilities-
(Who is developing powers and abilities that haven't been seen before?)
Personality Types-
(For instance, Logan was obviously a new personality type when he was created.)
History and Fluff-
(Example, Sentry or Blue Marvel showing up with a ready-made history with fluff that seemed interesting.)
I'm not sure about these days, but back in the 60's, Marvel was far more innovative, imo. Eg, a bickering superhero family; a Jekyll/Hyde monster as a hero; a "nut on a flying surfboard."
Around that time (and especially prior), it seemed DC couldn't come up with a character that didn't have "-man/-girl/-lad", etc in its name ("Matter Eating Lad"? Really?). Looking back, monikers like "Flash" or "Green Lantern" were ahead of their time.
However, with the retiring of Lee, the death of Kirby, and DC improving character development, and especially with all the rebooting both companies are doing, I'd say these days they're about equal.
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Shinier than a speeding bullet.
Eh, neither company is producing many new characters these days. I rarely, if ever, see a new character and think "wow, that's something new".
If we include Vertigo and Wildstorm, I'd say DC wins here for recent-ish characters. Jack Hawksmoor talks to and controls cities. Jenny Sparks & Jenny Quantum - spirits of the 20th and 21st centuries, with powers inspired by said centuries. Dream of the Endless...etc.
Marvel probably has more original personalities. Most of DC's mainstays were created when heroes were boyscouts, and that legacy continues for the most part. Most of Marvel's personalities were revolutionary when they were created, but their recent stuff isn't anything more special than DC's.
Not really sure what this means/who and what would be applicable.
It's pretty much only bad guys that have goals/motivations. All the good guys just want to protect Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Most of those bad guys just want to conquer shit, which isn't original. There's a few good examples on either side, including the two you mentioned. Also:
1. The Joker: Really just enjoys the game. His lack of motivation/goals is inventive in and of itself.
2. Krona: Wants to uncover the secret of the beginning of life, and would readily destroy life to get there.
3. Mxy: Just wants to phuck around.
To name a few interesting one's on DC's side.
__________________
"And then there was nothing. A once broken something now void.
And on the first day, Doom spoke... 'Be.'
And then there was life."
Marvel mostly because of the fact that there are like a gazillion superman (SBP, Ultraman, superboy, Steel, Supergirl, The supermen from other earths and what not, superman dynasty i mean c'mon)/superman-like characters. It's just kinda crazy.
Marvel has a number of Superman characters too. Some of them are straight copies (Gladiator), some have an extra power, or fewer powers, but they're basically the same.
__________________
"And then there was nothing. A once broken something now void.
And on the first day, Doom spoke... 'Be.'
And then there was life."
Marvel creating the first black superhero during the civil rights era,and other minority superheros and having them as core members was innovative and bold.
Both Marvel and Dc are about the same, but Marvel characters are more relate able as where Dc characters are more God like.
KMC Community Forums
Jun 5th, 2013 11:03 AM
I find the x-verse in particular a consistent and perhaps unrivaled factory of unique character concepts
