Variety. Of characterizations, of personalities, of roles, of motivations, of backstories, etc. No two characters should really be the same, but at the same time they need to be "workable." It should at least make some amount of sense that they are on there, and each character should be able to play off of the others in a different way. Best pals, romantic interest, little sibling. Like a family/group of friends setup.
Basically, each character should stand out in their own way, but be able to fit together with the others to form a seamless whole that combines brilliantly. Like a good dish at a fancy dinner restaurant. That is the mark of a good superhero team. Whatever else they are is ultimately meaningless if those requirements aren't fulfilled.
Leader archetype: cool, smart, goody two shoes, a bit boring (cyclops, captain america)
Rebel archetype: badboy with a good heart who often clashes with authority (batman, wolverine)
Comic relief: diffuses tension, annoys teammates, entertains reader (flash, spiderman)
Science guy: the guy who lives in a lab and rarely gets credit or spotlight for their critical contributions (beast, reed)
Brainless brute: self explanatory (thing, hulk)
token female and black: for diversity purposes, often lack personalities, often useless (luke cage, wondra (yeah I dont know who she is either)
Originally posted by Zeitgeist
Wolverine's swappable with Batman.
Or you just create a dimension warp and have Wolverine there anyway. He's the best at what he does, after all. And what he does is make guest appearances like its his job to boost sales.
313
Reformed List:
Black Guy
Top Tier Herald
Comic Relief (other than Black Guy)
Female Ninja-type
Wolverine or Batman
Reformed Villain
Hot Female
Science Guy
Magic Character
...may be some overlap between characters to maintain respectable numbers (comic relief/science in one character, for example)
Originally posted by DigiMark007
Reformed List:
Black Guy
Top Tier Herald
Comic Relief (other than Black Guy)
Female Ninja-type
Wolverine or Batman
Reformed Villain
Hot Female
Science Guy
Magic Character
Prestige classes include:
Magic Negro (Black Guy + Magic Character)
Universal Man (Science Guy + Magic Character [esp with Reformed Villain])
Femme Fatale (Reformed Villain + Hot Female)
Robin Goodfellow (Comic Relief + Herald)
Anti-Hero (Wolverine + Any [esp Batman])
Token Character (Black Guy or Hot Female + Science Guy or Batman)
For addition prestige classes consult your DM 313
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Prestige classes include:Magic Negro (Black Guy + Magic Character)
Universal Man (Science Guy + Magic Character [esp with Reformed Villain])
Femme Fatale (Reformed Villain + Hot Female)
Robin Goodfellow (Comic Relief + Herald)
Anti-Hero (Wolverine + Any [esp Batman])
Token Character (Black Guy or Hot Female + Science Guy or Batman)For addition prestige classes consult your DM 313
You forgot awesome guest stars. Temporary alliance supervillain for example. Like Magneto, or Brainiac, or Apoc. 😎