Guest Post - If I Had a Buck... Sheroes

Mike S. (aka Martinex1) is back again today with another of his $1 Challenges. We've had some fun in the past with these (click that link you just passed to check out his other posts), and I'm sure we'll get some good conversation again today. Thanks, Mike!

Sheroes.   The Super Heroine $1 Shopping Spree.
 

Mike S.: Here we go again. We are taking a trip to the ever changing, ever evolving comic store with only loose change in our pocket. It is time for another round of “If I Had A Buck…” This time around, the spinner rack selection has only heroines, superwomen, and female champions from which to choose.

There has been much talk in the comic industry recently about the attempt to reach female readers and to embrace strong female protagonists. There are numerous titles on the stands today with women headliners and that is a good thing. The cinematic Marvel universe has yet to create an A list film for a heroine. Earlier endeavors in the cinema with Red Sonja, Elektra, Catwoman, and Supergirl starring were less than stellar. Recently some of the Marvel films have established strong women in team efforts with Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Gamora. And there is great anticipation around the Ms. Marvel solo film. Hopefully someday we will see the Wasp, Tigra, Valkyrie, Batwoman, Raven, Huntress, and others on the silver screen.

In comics, Wonder Woman was always the grandmother of all heroines. Her costume is iconic and she ranks as a great character in a pantheon alongside Batman and Superman. Her comic has endured in one form or another for many decades, she was the subject of a successful live action television show, and she will be reappearing on film soon (hopefully arriving in her invisible jet). Honestly, I never read much Wonder Woman until George Perez took over the creative control in the 1980s, but always recognized her stature particularly in the JLA.

The late 70s brought to Marvel Comic fans an array of female headliners that have definitely stood the test of time.  Many of these characters were initially derivatives of their male counterparts and were used to shore up marketing trademarks and licenses. But characters like Spider Woman, She-Hulk, and Ms. Marvel have evolved with distinct personalities, traits, and conflicts. There have been many compelling takes on these characters over the years.

Spider-Woman’s initial series ran for fifty issues, which is no small feat. She starred in a Saturday morning cartoon show as well.  The comic established Jessica Drew’s uniqueness (despite her derivative name) with her base of operations on the West Coast, with a bizarre cast of villains who had horror leanings, and a rather convoluted and evolving origin. Her series had her battle weirdos like the Brothers Grimm, Daddy Longlegs, and Gypsy Moth. She teamed regularly and also fought against the Werewolf By Night. In her introduction, she was evolved from a spider (though that origin quickly changed) and she emitted an odor or creepiness that turned people off. Today she is a consistent star in the Avengers titles and continues to grow in a new solo series.

She-Hulk likewise went through many iterations. She started off with a very lame origin of a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner; her initial series was fairly mundane. John Byrne advanced her character in his run on the Fantastic Four and in a new solo title in which the heroine regularly broke the fourth wall and had many humorous adventures and interludes. Her most recent solo title is critically acclaimed as it focuses on Jennifer’s legal expertise and relationships.

Throughout the last five decades Marvel advanced many diverse female characters in their team books and solo titles. In my opinion these characters were just as compelling as their male counterparts and often drove very interesting stories with complex characterizations and problems. The list includes but is not limited to:  The Cat, Moondragon, Mantis, Thundra, Firestar, Aleta, Nikki, Tigra, Snowbird, Aurora, Hellcat, Valkyrie, Darkstar, Sif, Medusa, Crystal, Nova, Jocasta, Sheena, Storm, Kitty Pride, Dazzler, Dagger, Rogue, Marionette, and Songbird. Some fared better than others over time. Marvel also established some memorable female villains in Black Cat, Deathbird, Typhoid Mary, Moonstone, Mystique, White Queen, Destiny, Morgan LeFay, Madame Masque, Nebula, and of course Dark Phoenix.  

Over at DC, we saw Fire, Ice, Dove, Power Girl, Huntress, Oracle, Black Canary, Supergirl, Catwoman, Hawkgirl, Jesse Quick, Batgirl, and many others.

 So today, in this discussion there are nine titles to choose from, with nine female leads (I cheated a little to get Thundra in play), and only $1.00 to spend. I am curious what you would buy if there were only female characters on the spinner rack.

But even more importantly, I am curious what you think about the many heroines. Who are your favorites? What stories are worth reading? Who has better offerings in this category, Marvel or DC? Who would you like to see more of and should have their own series? Who should lead a team? Who would you like to see get a solo movie? 

And as always, have fun! Here is the list:

The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #7; $0.60

Dazzler #8; $0.50

Huntress #8; $1.00 (Yeah, I know you would have to spend all of your money, but that is a cool Staton cover!)

Marvel Chillers featuring Tigra The Were-Woman #5; $0.25

Marvel Two-In-One #56 starring Thundra; $0.40 (That punch had to put it on the list!)

Ms. Marvel #21; $0.35

Savage She-Hulk #10; $0.50 (with a Michael Golden cover!)

Spider-Woman #32; $0.50

Wonder Woman #5; $0.75

Hooking the Reader, Only to Fizzle?

Doug: For my 49th birthday, which was 10 days ago, my in-laws got me a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card. I'm usually an Amazon kind of guy, because I feel their prices are better. But of course I took the plunge and snagged a used (although when it arrived it was as new as new can be) copy of Super-Villains Unite: The Complete Super-Villain Team-Up for $16. Thumbing through the book (which is thick -- I got a great deal) I was struck with how below-average the art was in the series. Lots of not-so-good Herb Trimpe, some really early Keith Giffen that is baaaaaad, etc. But the first appearance before the ongoing was actually in Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1. It featured two reprints, but the framing story was drawn by Big John Buscema. For the second G-S issue, DC guys Mike Sekowsky and Jack Abel turned in the pictures. While obviously a couple of notches below JB, it was serviceable. When the series finally began in 25c form the first issue featured George Tuska and the second Sal Buscema. So really, to get this ball rolling there was some pretty solid art. But as I said, it devolved quickly.

Doug: All this got me to thinking -- Marvel seemed to have a "hook" artist at the beginning of many of their 1970s start-ups. But did that last? Did the series (of course most of them barely made it past a second year of circulation) continue to deliver? Let's stick to the John Buscema theme for a minute. Below are the covers to three other series that Buscema was tapped to kick off: Ms. Marvel, Nova, and She-Hulk.

Doug: Obviously John Romita provided the cover for Ms. Marvel #1, and Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott did the honors on Nova. Big John penciled the She-Hulk book. For the record, Buscema stuck around for three issues on Ms. Marvel, two on Nova (before giving way to his brother, Sal), and only penciled the inaugural issue of She-Hulk. I'm not going to denigrate the work of guys like Mike Vosburg, but let's be honest -- he isn't JB! And as I said above, each of these books petered out around the 25th issue.

Doug: So what else? Marvel had tried to get an Inhumans series going earlier in Amazing Adventures. It lasted around 10 issues before the second attempt was made a few years later. It should have succeeded -- during its short life, the book featured pencils by George Perez, Gil Kane, and Keith Pollard. Perez, young and green, handled five of the first eight issues. But Kane's style is such a stark contrast to that of Perez, was that a factor in perhaps driving readers away? Hard to say. Another book in which Kane was involved was the Champions. Maybe this book had other issues involving the writing and/or hero line-up, but covers by Kane, Ron Wilson, and Rich Buckler couldn't save the book from the interiors of Don Heck and George Tuska (in fairness, both past their prime). 

Doug: So speaking of interiors, one of the great mysteries of short-lived series in the Bronze Age is the survival of The Invaders. From the get-go Frank Robbins was on duty (often inked by Frank Springer) -- to say Robbins' art is not to my liking would be an understatement. I've read his scripting on the Batman books -- I absolutely have no problem at all with him as a writer. But I have a struggle each time I try to read books he penciled. To further confound the Invaders problem, the series enjoyed wonderful covers by John Romita (I'm featuring the second issue, as I'd shown the first issue's cover a few weeks ago) and then an extended run by Jack Kirby. Many have said that Kirby should have done the interiors as well. By the way, the fifth issue, penciled by Rich Buckler, was a treat.

Doug: What do the readers say? I guess we're talking about a subject that comes up then and again -- covers vs. interior art and also the major issue of short-lived series -- the often-revolving creator carousel. And what's your opinion on those first-issue artists? I was surprised at how many kick-offs John Buscema shepherded us through. Was he editorial's go-to guy? Was he the Bronze Age's Jack Kirby, in terms of "if we want this to be good and get off the ground, Big John has to do it"? Do you think these series had a focus, or were they merely to take up shelf space in order to cut into DC's market share? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Guest Review - "I'm With Stupid"... Teaming Up to Review Spider-Man/Human Torch, Part Two

Doug: We hope everyone had a great weekend. Summer's awesome, isn't it? Today Osvaldo and Mike W. are back with their second installment of their review of a series they both liked. Take it away, boys!

Here is part two of our overview/discussion of the Spider-Man/Human Torch mini-series, covering issues #3 and #4.

Spider-Man/Human Torch #3: “Auto Motives”

Spider-Man/Human Torch #3 (May 2005) is written by Dan Slott, penciled by Ty Templeton with inks by Tom Palmer and Nelson. This issue starts with Peter Parker reminiscing about some of his recent adventures. We see Punisher, Hammerhead, and the bizarre plot of Doc Ock almost marrying Aunt May, so this must take place after Amazing Spider-Man #132 or so (he also mentions the Spider-Mobile, which will be the REAL star of this issue!) He swings away, and we find out he was on the Brooklyn Bridge, talking to Gwen Stacy in the last place he saw her alive. Later, at the Baxter Building, Johnny Storm hits on an attractive Russian scientist (Nina Pushnikov), who's there as an intern for Reed Richards. Unfortunately, the Russian beauty is more impressed with Peter Parker (Reed's other intern) and Johnny's kind of jealous of Peter excelling in yet another area: science. Reed shows them his latest invention (a gravity localizer), but after the Russian scientist leaves, we find out she's working for the Red Ghost, Reed's villainous Russian counterpart.

Peter soon returns to the Baxter Building (as Spider-Man) to see Johnny about teaching him how to drive the Spider-Mobile ... like many New Yorkers, Peter never learned. Johnny agrees to teach him and hijinks ensue. They stop for a break on Yancy Street, where Spidey devours some Hostess--er, sorry, I mean MOSTESS--Fruit Pies; why do I mention the fruit pies, besides simple nostalgia? You'll see. After the Yancy Street Gang steals their hubcaps, Spidey gets the idea to add Reed's gravity localizer to the car so they can literally drive each other up the wall! He claims that Peter Parker told him about it. While working on the car back at FF headquarters, Spidey and Johnny have a heart-to-heart talk about Crystal and Gwen. Spidey doesn't name Gwen, of course Johnny (he still doesn’t know Peter and Spider-Man are the same person), but he confides to that the love of his life is dead.

They take the car out to test its new gravity-defying ability, and the Red Ghost and his Super Apes attack, determined to get Reed's device. After a short but entertaining fight, the Apes steal the Spider-Mobile, but Spidey manages to distract them with--what else--some delicious Mostess Fruit Pies! They use the gravity localizer to catch the intangible Red Ghost, but Peter is let go from his internship, for "sharing" Reed's passcode for access to the device with Spider-Man. The issue ends on another comedic note, with Spidey doing donuts on the side of the Daily Bugle Building ... right outside Jonah Jameson's office!

Osvaldo: I think this is my favorite of the five issues. The anti-gravity car is not that interesting, but the jokes about the Spider-Mobile and NYC traffic and an orangutan being able to parallel park while Spider-Man can’t are funny as hell, as is the call back to Hostess Fruit Pies. I may also be biased by the fact that Red Ghost and his Super-Apes are among my all-time favorite villains.  Of course, their origins and the other intern/spy further jumble the timeline here, since these events are tied to the Cold War and Soviet Russia.

M.S. Wilson: This is my favorite issue of the mini-series as well. I have a soft spot for the Spider Mobile because I had the toy as a kid. It’s nice to see Carter and Lombardo again … Carter looks like Stan Lee, but is Lombardo supposed to be Roy Thomas? I also liked the young Dan Ketch cameo (reminiscent of the one at the end of Marvels #4); maybe this is where Ghost Rider got the idea to drive his motorbike up walls? We see more of the jealousy theme; this time Johnny’s jealous because Peter is a science whiz. And you’re right about the jokes … this one has a zinger on practically every page! I also like the quieter moments, when Spidey confides in Johnny about Gwen, and admits that Johnny’s the only one he can talk to about that sort of thing. Strangely, the first time I ever saw Red Ghost and his apes was in a Spidey comic (Amazing #223, I think); I wasn’t an FF fan, so I had no idea he was one of their villains … I just assumed he was a new Spidey baddie! The Cold War feel is here, but it’s not overwhelming (at least not to me). Maybe Slott was trying to evoke a general sense of the times without getting too deep into it. With Marvel’s sliding timeline, I guess we have to assume the Red Ghost showed up after the fall of the Soviet Union, but that he’s still a scientific rival of Reed Richards (hence his attempts to steal Reed’s device).

Osvaldo: Yes. The balance of madcap fun and human moments makes this issue shine in a way that the others don’t (though the Aunt May scene in #1 is close).

Spider-Man/Human Torch #4 – “Cat’s Paws”

Spider-Man/Human Torch #4 (cover dated June 2005) takes place between Amazing Spider-Man #252 and #258, since Spider-Man still has the symbiote suit he got in Secret Wars, but doesn’t know that it is in fact a symbiote yet.  The story opens with a flashback to “A dozen years ago” (so earlier than the events in issue #1) depicting a man trying to steal a sacred headdress/mask from the Wakandan Embassy and setting off the alarm, thus he must flee before getting caught.

The next scene is captioned “A few years ago” and finds Johnny Storm waiting for She-Hulk to arrive (recent sub for the Thing who was still on Battleworld) to go to a costume party. Johnny is dressed as classic red and blue costumed Spider-Man, but She-Hulk shows up in a French maid’s outfit (a few sizes too small), and when the Torch comes on a little too strong, suggesting they “stay in” rather than go to the party, Shulkie balks and leaves.  Johnny is left feeling like he can’t win in the ladies department.  He flies off in a huff and discovers what appears to be Peter Parker on a roof arguing with Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. Just moments before the two of them handed over a webbed up Beetle to Jean DeWolfe, but fell to arguing about what to do next.  Black Cat wants Peter’s help to steal something from the Wakandan Embassy and he refuses.  Once again Johnny is blown away by the women Parker seems to attract, but in the sleeze mode he occupies through most of this series, he takes the opportunity of a lovers’ tiff to agree to accompany Felicia to an event at the embassy and help her out.

That night Peter arrives at the Wakandan Embassy to cover the event for Daily Bugle wearing an impromptu tuxedo courtesy of the symbiote-suit’s camouflage powers (something played for a laugh in several scenes later in the comic). He is there when Johnny Storm and Felicia Hardy arrive together and Peter confronts them, certain that Black Cat is just using Johnny and Johnny is too stupid and/or horny to know better. When Johnny uses his relationship with Black Panther to get him and Felicia a closer look at the mask in the display case, Peter decides to try to stop them by having his alien costume replicate the uniform the guards are wearing including a beret in order to move through the embassy unimpeded. Unfortunately for Peter (but fortunately for good taste) the symbiote suit cannot make Peter look black, so despite his uniform he is spotted by the guard accompanying Johnny and Felicia. When the guard gives chase, the two would-be thieves are left alone with the mask. 

After another failed attempt to “blend in” that leaves Peter exposed in a some kind of traditional Wakanda tribal get-up, he transform to Spider-Man and ends up being a great inadvertent distraction for the others while he is confronted by T’Challa himself.

Meanwhile the Human Torch is using his powers to suck all the heat out of the room to mess with the heat sensors while the Black Cat disables them and put the cameras to play a loop of an empty room, and then he uses a focus of heat to distort the lasers around the mask itself allowing Felicia to squeeze through. Of course, there is a gratuitous need to make her strip down to her underwear to be able to squeeze through the laser bars. When she cuts through the glass case the mask is in the alarm goes off, but by the time the distracted guards and the Black Panther arrive the two thieves are long gone, but what is this? The mask is still there!  Spider-Man slips away.

Confronting the Human Torch and the Black Cat on a nearby rooftop, Spider-Man says he doesn’t care that they didn’t get away with their heist, he is still mad at them. It is then that the Black Cat reveals when she really came there for, her dad’s lucky lockpick. He was the man in the original flashback who failed to steal the mask. He dropped it when the alarm went off and it was hidden among the mask’s plumage.  Felicia had noticed it when she saw a photo of the mask in the paper, but Peter Parker had never given her a chance to explain what she really wanted. It was just “more fun” to try to steal it than to use Johnny’s connection to the Black Panther to ask for it.  Torch explains that he and the Black Cat were using both Spider-Man and Peter Parker (remember, he still doesn’t know Peter’s identity), knowing that Peter would be there to cover it for the paper and that he’d contact Spider-Man when he saw them, thus causing the distraction.

While he is explaining, he turns his back to the couple and when he turns back around Spidey and Black Cat have reconciled and are making out.  Human Torch is outraged that Spider-Man is making time with Peter Parker’s girl, and takes off, but not before letting Felicia know she can still call him up to go out.

M.S. Wilson: Johnny is still having no luck with his love life, and gets jealous of Pete and Black Cat this time, after striking out with Shulkie. The scene of Johnny hitting on She-Hulk was weird...did he expect her to just jump him? And the remark about Starfox seemed kind of “slut-shaming” to me. Was Slott writing She-Hulk at this point? I think he was the one who wrote the “Starfox on Trial” issues, so it seems a bit weird here, but I suppose it’s meant to illustrate how bad Johnny is when it comes to women; Dorrie, Crystal, Frankie Raye, now Shulkie … I guess he and Alicia weren’t an item yet?

Osvaldo: Maybe Slott just wanted to avoid one of the most hated plot lines in Fantastic Four continuity: Alicia and Johnny as lovers and then Alcia’s retconning into a skrull! Anyway… Yes. Slott was writing a She-Hulk series at this same time, which I mostly love and wrote about over on The Middle Spaces. The She-Hulk/Johnny Storm interaction here was an awful choice by Slott that he didn’t think through. Not only does it come off as slut-shaming, but when She-Hulk says that “This’s probably my fault” I cringed and felt bad for She-Hulk, and that is not the the reaction you want to evoke in a book with a comedic focus. To make thing worse, when Johnny storms off (no pun intended) the focus of the story is on his feelings. “Woe is me! I keep striking out because I assume all women should want to sleep with me at all times!” It just comes off as so arrogant and creepy that left a bad taste in my mouth. This is just the kind of thing when I find in comics that I cannot ignore.  As someone who loves comics I think it important to address this stuff. There were plenty of ways to handle that scene in a romantic farce kind of way that would have gotten the character where he needed to be narratively without reinforcing negative ideas about women’s sexuality.

M.S. Wilson: Yeah, it seems like Slott was just using She-Hulk because she’s got the reputation of being … uninhibited when it comes to sex, shall we say? He probably could’ve used Tigra and gotten the same result. It does really make Johnny look like an asshole (more than usual), so I’m not sure what Slott was going for exactly. Is this the first time Johnny’s been attracted to her? I mean, her regular costume isn’t exactly conservative; I hope Torchy isn’t ogling her in the middle of a life-or-death battle with Annihilus or whoever. I’m assuming maybe Slott was just trying to show how crappy Johnny’s luck is when it comes to women (another reason to be jealous of Peter Parker!), but there had to be a better way to do it than this. And if Johnny’s that crass with women in general, maybe that’s why he’s still single!  

M.S. Wilson: Anyway, this plot is a bit strange (probably best not to scrutinize it too closely); Pete thinks Felicia wants to steal a Wakandan tribal mask that her father failed to get years ago, and when he refuses to help she gets Johnny instead … classic hijinks, right? But if she'd just explained things in the first place (I know Pete didn't give her much chance, but still) the whole mess would've been avoided. There are a lot of plot contrivances in this one to make it work: Pete not giving Felicia a chance to explain, Black Panther assuming Spidey is a bad guy, and especially, Johnny assuming Black Cat is cheating on Peter with Spidey instead of putting two and two together and realizing Pete and Spidey are one and the same. I know Johnny's supposed to be kind of dense, but he really comes off as being thick as a brick here. The shot of Black Cat in her underwear was gratuitous too--I mean, she looked good, but it really wasn't necessary to the story; it might have fit better in a story that was originally published in the 90s.

Osvaldo: Still, despite this, the issue still works. Slott manages to keep Black Cat as the “bad influence” character, but instead of an actual robbery the ridiculous aim of getting a lockpick fits with the comedic tone of the series. My favorite part is the symbiote suit trying to help Peter “blend in.”  I did like the inclusion of Captain Jean DeWolfe at the beginning of the issue and makes me miss her. I wrote about the “The Death of Jean DeWolfe” story line last year, and one of my conclusion was that it was a shame she had to die for that crappy story.  Black Panther mentions that he has met up with Spider-Man twice before at this point. Do you think this is an a reference to two actual team-ups at this point? Knowing Slott, it must be.  He must be referring to Marvel Team-Up #20 from 1974 and #87 from 1979, but surely they have met up other times in the intervening years? Any ideas?

M.S. Wilson: The only other places I can think of are in some of the “group scenes”, like The Death of Captain Marvel Graphic Novel, the Contest of Champions, and the Hulk’s presidential pardon from Incredible Hulk 277-279; Spidey and the Panther were present at all those events, so we could assume that they interacted in some way, even if it wasn’t specifically shown (especially at Captain Marvel’s funeral). But maybe Slott is assuming they didn’t and is just going by the stories as published … in which case, Panther’s suspicion follows from their last meeting in Marvel Team-Up #87, where he was really suspicious of Spidey if I remember correctly. In fact, that story always bothered me; you’d think Panther would’ve known by then (or other heroes would’ve told him) that Spidey was OK. Then again, I suppose it fits with the later retcon of Black Panther being suspicious of everyone and joining the Avengers just to spy on them.

Osvaldo: By the way, if you accidentally do a search for “Spider-Man Human Torch slash” like I did you will find a bunch of fan written stories that solve Johnny’s love woes by putting him and Spidey in a whole other kind of relationship (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

We hope you’ve been enjoying our journey through Slott’s exploration of the development of Spider-Man and Human Torch’s friendship. We have one more issue to review, when Slott and crew handle the crappiness of 1990s Marvel Comics in the only way anyone should…by ignoring them!  See you next time!

Super Blog Team-Up: The Top 10 Bronze Age Characters (x2!)

Karen: Today we're taking part in another Super-Blog Team-Up, the sixth in fact, and this time around, as you can tell from the logo above, the topic is Top Ten lists. For our contribution, Doug and I decided to choose the Top Ten Characters Born of the Bronze Age. Now since we're both mainly Marvelites, we stuck with Marvel characters, and heroes; and Doug proposed a little twist: he picked out female characters, while I chose male ones.

Karen: For my criteria, I considered things like impact and influence, longevity, and aesthetic appeal. Admittedly, these are subjective determinations, but in making my choices, I did try to give them numerical scores. In some cases however, I went with my gut: how could I deny that Wolverine deserved the top spot on my list? This is not a list of my favorites (Punisher would never make a list of my favorite characters) but a list of those I think have proven to be the most important Marvel Bronze Age male heroes for a variety of reasons. I left out licensed characters so you won’t see Conan or Rom. Also, after discussion with my esteemed colleague, we decided that some characters, such as Beast and Warlock, despite having their beginnings in the Silver Age, had been so thoroughly changed in the Bronze Age as to be completely different incarnations, and could be eligible for this list. So without any more jabbering, here’s my top ten:


1. Wolverine
1st Appearance: Incredible Hulk # 180 (here's our review of Hulk #181) (November 1974)
Creators: Roy Thomas, John Romita Sr., Len Wein, Herb Trimpe

Yes, he’s insanely over-exposed but there’s no denying that of all the characters created at Marvel during the Bronze Age, he’s the only one that can be said to rival the popularity of any of the original Silver Age creations. What made him so great in the Bronze Age? A mysterious past, a bad attitude, an unpredictability that made him exciting. His powers were also unique – claws? And he actually cut people? Perhaps it was the beginning of the end of the Bronze Age and Wolverine was the harbinger of the Grim and Gritty era, with his bloodlust. But at his best, he was a fascinating anti-hero with an evolving personality.

2. Punisher

1st Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974)
Creators: Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr., Ross Andru

In some ways, the Punisher is similar to Wolverine. He’s an anti-hero as well, even more likely to kill than the mutant berserker. His origin was inspired by both pulp books and films like Death Wish and Dirty Harry, where vigilantes took the law into their own hands. This had a strong appeal in the 70s (and still does today).He was ridiculously popular for a couple of decades and inspired a lot of copycats, although he’s cooled off lately. Even so, he’s continued to hang around and is right below Wolvie as far as his overall impact and longevity for a Bronze Age character. Plus, you gotta love that John Romita Sr. costume design. The skull covering the entire torso –a classic.

3. Luke Cage

1st Appearance: Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972)
Creators: Archie Goodwin, John Romita Sr., George Tuska

Like so many others on this list, Cage was born out of a fad –the blaxploitation films of the early 70s. But he’s outlived those films and continued to be a significant player in the Marvel Universe. Cage was the first Black super-hero to have his own title, and this distinction automatically makes him an impact character. He frequently guest-starred in other titles and later teamed up with Iron Fist for a terrific buddy comic that ran for many years. Throughout his iterations, his strong personality has defined him –Lord knows his costumes have never been winners.

4. Adam Warlock
1st Appearance (as Him): Fantastic Four #66 (September 1967)
1st Appearance (as Adam Warlock): Marvel Premiere #1 (April 1972)
Creators: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Jim Starlin

Although he first appeared as a modern reimagining of Frankenstein courtesy of Lee and Kirby, the character of Him would soon be radically transformed, first by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, and yet again, even more substantially, by Jim Starlin. Warlock is the poster boy for cosmic hero at Marvel, and the outgrowth of cosmic characters to this day owe no small debt to him, and also to Starlin’s other work with Captain Marvel. Thanos is one of the most popular villains in comics, and despite the Captain facing him first, it was his conflict with Warlock that thrust him into the limelight. Warlock is perpetually being killed and reborn it seems, to suit whatever needs Marvel has for him, but he’s rarely off the map for long.

5. Ghost Rider
1st Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (August 1972)
Creators: Gary Friedrich, Roy Thomas, Mike Ploog

Here’s a character that gets on the list mainly because he’s managed to hang on for so damn long. I think the major appeal is the visual: the demonic cyclist is a winner. But I have to say, personally I've never been a big fan of the character. I read the Johnny Blaze books somewhat regularly in the 70s and never thought they were very good.When Ploog was drawing the book, at least it looked brilliant. But it suffered from constantly changing creative teams. Ghost Rider also   slides also into the monster/horror category, and it seems difficult for writers to figure out what to do with him. But he’s had staying power, there’s no denying that. He’s even had a couple of terrible movies made (Nicholas Cage? Really?). So that longevity, and his general recognition factor, earns him a spot on the list.

 6. The Beast

1st Appearance (human form): X-Men #1 (September 1963)
1st Appearance (furry form): Amazing Adventures #11 (March 1972)
Creators: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Tom Sutton, Steve Englehart

The Beast, like Warlock, is another character who was so completely transformed in the 70s as to almost be an entirely different character. In an attempt to ‘jazz up’ the hero, he was given a truly animalistic look. Along with the visual change, writer Steve Englehart also expanded his character, taking the Beast from a brainy nerd who constantly dropped five syllable words to a more complex soul who had an appreciation and knowledge of arts and culture as well –and more of a wild side. His zany wit would help loosen up the Avengers when he joined –the first X-Men to do so (back when that actually meant something). After a long tenure with that team, Beast would spend time with the Defenders, and then bounce between the X-folks and the Avengers. He’s been counted as one of the most brilliant minds in the Marvel Universe and he’s still going strong today.

7. Nightcrawler
1st Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)
Creators: Dave Cockrum, Len Wein

The two mutants at positions 7 and 8 on the list were a very close call for me. Nightcrawler came out slightly ahead of Colossus based primarily on the strength of his personality, and the great costume design of Dave Cockrum. It’s no surprise that the core team of new-new X-Men from Giant-Size X-Men #1 all make Doug and my lists. These guys were winners- well, except for poor Thunderbird. He never got a chance. Nightcrawler from the very beginning had a well-defined personality, showy powers, and a cool costume. He’s been dead but he’s been brought back. He’s just too darn likable.

8. Colossus
1st Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)
Creators: Dave Cockrum, Len Wein

The Russian mutant is a little less interesting than his fellow team-mates but there’s no denying he’s exciting in action. Plus, he’s just a great big nice guy. Like Nightcrawler, he was killed off and brought back (what is it with X-Men and death?). Colossus continues to exert a presence in the Marvel U.

9. Iron Fist
1st Appearance: Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974)
Creators: Roy Thomas, Gil Kane

Like his later partner, Luke Cage, Iron Fist was born of a fad, from the flood of martial arts movies in the late 60s/early 70s. Throw in some mysticism and a funky outfit and a grade B star is born. It didn't hurt that his early series was written by Chris Claremont and drawn by John Byrne. His later partnership with Cage (aka Power Man) is fondly remembered. And he has regained popularity recently. 

10. Deathlok
1st Appearance: Astonishing Tales #25 (August 1974)
Creators: Rich Buckler, Doug Moench


The post-apocalyptic cyborg gets the nod here because it’s a concept that just won’t die. Besides the original character created by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench, it’s been revisited a couple more times in the comics, and even an ersatz version of Deathlok (it looks so terrible) has popped up on the Agents of SHIELD TV show. The original story that ran in Astonishing Tales was sheer punk, not your usual Marvel fare –except, in 70s, you never knew what you’d get from Marvel! Oh, how I miss those days. Deathlok was decidedly different and still resonates.

Karen: After composing my list, I thought it was interesting that everything on it was from 1972-1975 –a particularly fertile period of time for Marvel. There were a number of characters I left off that quite frankly might have made the list, if I’d been in a different mood, or done it on a different day: Moonknight, Shang-Chi, and Nova all came close. But I’m satisfied with the ten heroes I've selected.

Doug: I created a list of nominees, and then decided to get a bit formulaic for the purpose of narrowing my list. I'd originally come up with 20 characters, mostly Marvel (Dawnstar was the most prominent DC lady I had off the top of my head). If I didn't know the first appearance of the character I looked that up, followed by the character's creators. Next I went to the Comic Book Database for the chronological listing of the character's appearances, notably in the Bronze Age. And that's where my parting of the ways came with certain characters. For example, Tigra was on my initial list, but when I got to looking at her resume', I realized that the Frightful Four story that ran in Fantastic Four #s 177-184 was my primary encounter with the character until the West Coast Avengers ongoing series (which largely fell outside the Bronze Age, and which I generally loathe). So away she went!

Here's my very non-scientific list, ranked 1st to 10th. If you're looking for subjective, you've come to the right place!

1. Phoenix

1^st appearance: Uncanny X-Men #101 (1976)
Created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum
Key appearances: X-Men #101-137

As with Karen's list, some of the characters below were actually created in the Silver Age but reached new prominence in the Bronze Age. Jean Grey fits into that category. When you think about it, her story arc truly ran from her introduction/makeover in X-Men #101 to her death at the end of the "Dark Phoenix Saga". While she wasn't always at the forefront of the team's adventures, the running backstory that led up to her ultimate fate kept readers waiting anxiously for the next month's issue. Had Marvel allowed her to stay dead, her legend might be even greater. At any rate, her swansong ranks among the top two or three stories of the entire era.

2. Storm

1^st appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975)
Created by Dave Cockrum
Key appearances: Giant-Size X-Men #1, Uncanny X-Men #94-142

If the story surrounding Phoenix was the most notable adventure of the All-New, All-Different X-Men, Storm may have been the most important member -- yes, even beyond Wolverine. Now hold on just a minute... Sure, Wolverine was the break-out star of the group and really took on a life of his own. But Storm supplanted Cyclops as team leader, and for many people's money became the team's anchor. My favorite vignette involving Storm was in issue #113 when she frees her teammates from Magneto's bounds by using lock picks hidden in her headdress. It was a nice bit of organic character development on the part of Chris Claremont, but even moreso showed that the team's most powerful member (after Phoenix) could use her mind and practical skills to make a difference.Statuesque and beautiful, Storm was one of my favorites on that team.

3. Elektra

1^st appearance: Daredevil #168
Created by Frank Miller
Key appearances: Daredevil #168-181

I'll be honest. I don't have an affinity whatsoever for Elektra. Truth be told, it was years after the fact until I read the run of her appearances in Daredevil. But as with Phoenix, her death at the time resonated with fans, and if this is a Top 10 list of Bronze Age characters, her impact during our timeframe cannot be discounted. Elektra embodies the changes wrought by Frank Miller, and as we discussed a couple of weeks ago, Miller's changes to the DD mythos were perhaps the most radical character revision of all time. Elektra, then, deserves some serious notice on this list. Of course she's still around, most notably getting kicked in the crotch by Luke Cage in what was my swansong from buying new comics.

4. Ms. Marvel

1^st appearance: Ms. Marvel #1 (1977); as Carol Danvers Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (1968)
Created by Gerry Conway and John Buscema; Carol Danvers created by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan
Key appearances: Ms. Marvel #1-23, Avengers #171-177, 181-193

I was in on the adventures of Ms. Marvel from the get-go, which is unusual as I'll comment further down the line. I couldn't tell you what the attraction was to this character (well, aside from the window in her costume), as I'd not been a reader of Captain Marvel -- yes, I recognized that the costume was the same, but that wasn't the draw. But Marvel's attempt at creating a champion for women's lib in the ERA era, a woman with an important job who lived in a pretty nice apartment and kicked tail in her spare time should be lauded. Marvel did a nice job of marketing the character to boys like me, putting the Spidey cast on the cover of issue #1 along with the Scorpion (#s 1-2), and then guesting the Vision (#5), MODOK (#s 7-10), Tiger Shark (#s 15-16), the Avengers (#18), and Captain Marvel (#19).  And oh yeah -- she became an Avenger herself, upping her Marvel Universe profile even further. 

5. Valkyrie

1^st appearance: Defenders #4 (1972); prior incarnation in Avengers #83 (1970)
Created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema
Key appearances: Avengers #83, Defenders #4-45, Giant-Size Defenders #1-5, Marvel Two-In-One #7

I first encountered Valkyrie in Marvel Two-In-One #7 -- we ran a post about it's great cover last year. As with all of the women discussed so far, independence is a notable character trait. Add in strength, a bit of bravado, and the fact that she doesn't take anything from anybody and Barbara Norris is a winner. Her tragic story of a husband she cannot love was a great hook early on. And, what was more Bronze Age than the Defenders? Her association with that team alone would place her high on anyone's list.

6. Mantis

1^st appearance: Avengers #112 (1973)
Created by Steve Englehart and first drawn by Don Heck
Key appearances: Avengers #112-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4

Love her or hate her? It's been my experience that most Avengers fans hate her, both for her grating speech patterns as well as her pining for the Vision at a time when he and Wanda were having some relational difficulties. But I'll sit right here (well, I'm actually standing as I type this particular entry) and say that I like the character. For my money, the "Celestial Madonna" arc ranks among the top five or six Bronze Age arcs, and I pull those numbers out of the air -- it's near the top of my personal list. And, as many of us will attest, the creators and characters that we consider our personal "entry level" carry a ton of weight with us. Mantis is in that category for me. When I was but a waif I had a smattering of Avengers comics, but the first one I clearly recall buying off the shelf at a local drug store was Avengers #130, "The Reality Problem!". If I wasn't already hooked, I was after that one!

7. Red Sonja

1^st appearance: Conan the Barbarian #23 (Here's our review of Conan #24)(1973)
Created by Robert E. Howard; Marvel version created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith
Key appearances: Conan the Barbarian #23-24, Marvel Feature #1-7, Red Sonja #1-15

So why do you think Red Sonja is on this list? Cheesecake? Try that and she'd run you through! But let's face it -- she does fulfill a certain male fantasy, doesn't she? As a lad, I was fully aware of this character's presence in Marvel Feature and her later eponymous title. But unlike the Ms. Marvel book, I don't think I'd have had the nerve to pull one of her books off the shelf and take it to the counter. Don't ask me why -- seems weird, I know. But aside from the titillation, the stories I've read have been interesting and well done. And yeah -- that she wears a chain-mail bikini is perhaps a draw...

8. Glory Grant

1^st appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #140 (1975)
Created by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru
Key appearances: Marvel Team-Up #30, Peter Parker #1-3, 7-8, Amazing Spider-Man #174-178

"Wait, what?" -I hear you say? Karen said she would look forward to my rationalizing this pick. I was surprised when doing research for the post that Glory Grant first appeared in the ASM book. I was pretty sure that it was in Marvel Team-Up. But why in the world is she on my list in place of the Black Cat or Tigra or Hellcat or Shanna the She-Devil? I guess for me she's here mostly for lost potential. And it's not that she's a bad character - no, not at all. I thought she was somewhat exciting as that next wave of supporting characters in the Spidey books, and I especially thought she'd take on a starring role when the Peter Parker book came along. What an opportunity to create some separation between the various titles by featuring supporting cast members in only certain books. A Spider-verse, yes, but still able to remain distinct across the publications. Anyway, Glory was a fun read whenever she showed up, and I enjoyed her limited appearances. And, this is my list... 

9. She-Hulk

1^st appearance: Savage She-Hulk #1 (1980)
Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema
Key appearances: Fantastic Four #265-285

As I began to read a listing of She-Hulk's appearances I found that not only was she introduced just as I was getting out of regular comics buying in 1980, but she really didn't appear in anything I read regularly until after our Bronze Age end-date of 1985. But she makes my list anyway but with a nod to those later years as an Avenger and as a member of the Fantastic Four (where I personally enjoyed her tenure as Ben's replacement after the Secret Wars or some such thing). I read the first few issues of the later John Byrne series but never warmed to it. I guess I prefer my superheroing played a bit straighter, but I appreciate what Byrne was doing. And the character is perfect for such a take. She's lasted in large part to her charm as well as to her strength. Oh, and she's smart, too! She's another great role model for young female readers.

10. Thundra

1^st appearance: Fantastic Four #129 (1972)
Created by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway; first drawn by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott
Key appearances: Fantastic Four #129-130, 148-149, 151-153, 178-184, Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, Avengers Annual #8, Marvel Two-In-One #53-58

I love Thundra! What a great character! She's sort of like Wonder Woman but with this haughty attitude -- Thundra and Red Sonja on an adventure together would be a hoot! I really enjoy the banter between Thundra and Ben Grimm -- he's such a character built for comic relief anyway, but when there's a potential suitor involved it's just uncomfortably better. I haven't read Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, but I'll vouch for all of the other issues mentioned above. The authors all wrote the character consistently, which is great. The Fantastic Four in the early Bronze Age was certainly off-beat, with Sue out of the picture for extended stretches and Medusa and Thundra with prominent roles. When I see a mag with Thundra on the cover, I know what I'm getting. And that's usually some serious butt-kicking with a laugh along the way.

Doug: So what do you think? Where did we err? What did we get right? And where o where would the female characters fit if juxtaposed with the male characters' list? Be sure to leave us a comment, and then head over to our partners' blogs, listed for you just below. Thanks for stopping by today!

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AND... Be sure to visit the Bronze Age Babies other entries in Super Blog Team-Up:

Was the Vision Really Carrying a Torch? (February 19 2014)

The Frightful Four - Are Brains Required for this Outfit? (May 21 2014)

When Friends Like These Are Your Enemies (September 24 2014)

Things Are a Little Different Around Here... (January 28 2015)