Who would be the 4th in DC's Trinity if it was a "Big 4" instead?

This isn’t really a battle so much as it is a popularity contest/critical thinking exercise, so sorry if this just gets closed or moved, but I thought it would be a fun discussion. This isn’t necessarily who you think *should* be DC’s Ringo based on your personal opinion of the character, but based on number of appearances and general prominence in the universe, who *would* be the #4 cheese in the DCU if it was just set up slightly differently?

Hal Jordan.

His publishing history and prominence matchup perfectly.

It SHOULD be Captain Marvel though!

Hal Jordan.

If Clark didn't exist he would be DC's greatest hero.

I agree. I think the 3 strongest cases can be made for Hal Jordan, Dick Grayson, and then Aquaman in that order. Hal is his own entity unto himself and is the only one (besides Grayson) who exceeds 4,000 appearances. He has existed as solo hero, League Member, Lantern Corps member, super villain, and straight up "God's hand" so he has the narrative range.

Grayson on the other hand has over 7,000 appearances which I think puts him in like top 10 ever, but he will always be Batman's ex-sidekick, despite spending as much time, if not more, leading the the 2nd most prominent team in DC.

I say Aquaman is 3rd choice because out of all the characters who aren't already in Trinity, aren't legacy characters like GL/Flash, and were never sidekicks, he has the most appearances and imo prominence over MM, CM, etc.

Originally posted by LordofBrooklyn
Hal Jordan.

His publishing history and prominence matchup perfectly.

It SHOULD be Captain Marvel though!

GL or Flash.

Hal wasn't that great a decade ago, he has a personality of wet blanket

and caused multiversal destruction in Zero Hour

GL or a Flash.

But I’d say flash for sure

Flash.

GL or flash. Their the only 2 members besides the trinity where the team feels incomplete without a representative of each.

Originally posted by Galan007
GL or Flash.

Yeah.

GL for leadership. Flash for overall importance to continuity and cosmology.

prolly hal or aquaman

I shoulda been more clear. If you’re picking GL or Flash you gotta specify. That’s why Hal, Barry, John, Wally, and Kyle are all choices in the poll. I figure Jay Garrick and Alan Scott are too unknown at this point but I’m open to all arguments.

And @MrMind I’m not sure personality is a factor per se. I mean Clark and Diana have had long “wet blanket” runs themselves. I would also say his impact as an antagonist also emphasizes why he would be up there

Hal, Especially after 2000 when Johns taking the GL run. Both Johns and Morrison did a excellent job to developing his mythology and personality

Kyle was the fan favorite, but Johns has such a hard on for Hal and crappy silver age comics in general, he just has to shove Mary sue down our throat. Same case with Barry

Picked Hal.

Cyborg.

Booyah

Originally posted by MrMind
Kyle was the fan favorite

Mindset's favorite.

Because he got raped.

Hal in honestly far more important to the cosmology than Wonder Woman is, and so is Barry for that matter. She's just there because girl power.

Originally posted by Juntai
Hal in honestly far more important to the cosmology than Wonder Woman is, and so is Barry for that matter. She's just there because girl power.

No she isnt. She's there because like Superman and Batman she had continuous print from the Golden Age.

Of all other golden Age characters GL, Flash, and Black Hood (MLJ/Archie) were the only ones that survived until the late 40s until the characters were revived in 55 with a new look/Backstory.

That's why GL, and Flash (which ever version you pick of either) are the only other choices. They each have the next strongest staying power. Now in reality Flash and GL have close to the same staying power. Both of their solo titles finished in 1949, but Alan was still printed in All Star Comics occasionally until 51. But I chose Barry since he kicked off the Silver Age and came back first in 55, while Hal didnt return till 59. So Flash has 2 more years in print.