30) THE HELLIONS
Whose brilliance is responsible: Chris Claremont & Sal Buscema
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
0 (comics usually ignores them unless Emma's feeling sorry for herself again)
Pathos (x2):
1 (they all died)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2 (few of them were totally evil- except for Empath- Catseye's whole "cat in a human's body" thing was fascinating)
Epic:
0Original:
3 (a cat in a human's body, a luck-disc-thrower, a girl who summoned tarot cards. Totally unique stuff)
Iconic/Influential (x2):
0Good Design (x2):
1Relevance:
0Relatable:
0Conflicts & Relationships:
2 (I liked how the played off of the New Mutants kids, especially Catseye & Wolfsbane, and how Roulette kept trying to tempt the boys. Tarot's crush on Doug was funny)
AWESOME FACTOR: 13 (a total personal favourite- a few were mediocre, especially the new kids, but they're my official "Minor Characters That I Love the Crap Out Of". Everyone has a few of those)-The funny thing about them is they're my own personal example of "Doom Patrol Popularity". Which of course means "their vocal popularity far outstrips their actual popularity" (or just plain "I love the crap out of them way more than 99% of other fans seem to). This group of kids was introduced at the quarter-point of the New Mutants' title, and they were basically set up as a "Rival School" to the main group- many of their powers had direct counterparts (Wolfsbane-Catseye and Cannonball-Jetstream being the big ones), they followed the White Queen's EEEVIL Hellfire Club, and wanted to beat the hell out of the New Mutant kids.
-But then some funny things happened. Despite only being in a smattering of books over the course of 100 issues (seriously, it's quite a lot smaller than you'd expect given the hype some people give the team), there was some really great characterization, some VERY unique powers, and a lot of fun in the rivalry. Starting out as basically Good (vs) Evil, things very quickly shifted to "Antagonistic Rivalry", with the teams engaging in races or little arguments while sharing time at a dance or a Hellfire Club gala or something. The Hellions even took the Mutants' side when Empath went WAY too far in the use of his powers.
-You had Thunderbird II, living up to his brother's (short) legacy, leading the squad. Then there was Empath (supreme royal dick- Emotion Manipulator), Jetstream (dutiful generic guy- Flight), Roulette (snarky bad girl- Luck Discs), Tarot (actually nice girl- Summoning) and Catseye (cat in human's body- Werecat). Now, I normally hate the kind of extra hype that some characters get when it outstrips their actual use in-universe. I was really annoyed when I first saw "Record of Lodoss War" the anime when the Dark Elf chick who I'd read countless fan-pages & shrines of online turned out to be in the damn thing for a total of five minutes. I generally reject the "Mini-Fanbase for really minor characters" thing. But I loved this team. Their powers were either extremely original, or generic done in a cool, unique way (Jetstream could fly, but had to be a cyborg as he wasn't immune to his own Blast-Off; Catseye was an Animal Person, but actually literally more ANIMAL than person, and not angsting about it).
-So it was kind of a pity that they trailed off at the end of the book's run. When Rob Liefeld & Fabian Nicieza took over the book, they really didn't use the kids much, until they recruited Thunderbird as "Warpath" in X-Force. They were throwaway one-shot villains in a "New Warriors" issue, adding two new, AWFUL characters in Beef & Bevatron (I mean- REALLY). Then came that "Uncanny X-Men" relaunch with the new "Gold Strike Force". In their very first issue, we're subject to Trevor Fitzroy, a classically-overpowered lame 90s villain, who walks right into the Hellfire Club and EASILY kills off a bunch of the kids. What's worst is that the character who got the most play in the whole thing on the Hellions side was BEEF, who was only a few months old as a character at the time!
-Then, in the next issue, he sucks dry the ENTIRE GROUP, wiping out one of the greatest cases of lost potential I've ever seen in comics. These kids had SO MUCH POTENTIAL within them, and it was spoiled in one fell swoop just because the various X-writers had no plans for them. I mean, I can't fault the writers for not wanting to use them so bad (Fabian Nicieza was great at doing stuff with characters who'd otherwise be lost, though), but to wipe out the whole team just like that? For shame. The only positive was that it gave Emma Frost her great characterization shift, going from mustache-twirlingly dark and evil to a sympathetic woman who lost the only things that mattered to her (a recurring theme with her, in both Genosha and the X-Massacre post-M-Day).
29) JESSE CUSTER
Whose brilliance is responsible: Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
3 (the main character, duh)
Pathos (x2):
3 (saw his daddy murdered in front of his eyes, then lost his mom for decades. Grew up with Gran'ma Marie, the most horrible villain ever)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2 (puts up the front of the big tough bad-ass)
Epic:
3 (even without The Word, he kicks all sorts of ass. He's never really lost a fight)
Original:
3 (not really another character like him)
Iconic/Influential (x2):
0Good Design (x2):
2 (good lady fanservice- stylish and bad-boyish. Threatens my sexuality)
Relevance:
1Relatable:
0Conflicts & Relationships:
2 (his thing with Tulip was great- he couldn't deal with her modern-woman-ness, and especially how disappointed he was that Cassidy wasn't the guy he thought he was)
AWESOME FACTOR: 26 (don't listen to haters- this series ruled)-Jesse was a REALLY interesting character in Preacher- he acts the big brave cowboy on a mission to stop the bad guy (ie. FRICKING GOD), but it's a hell of a ride, as you get a look into his messed-up past, his lost father, his idolizing of John Wayne, his love for Tulip, and what happened with him & Cassidy. He seems all Southern & conservative ("it just ain't right" is a common phrase), but he's more open and smart than he seems, and he kicks all kinds of ass. He's a bit of a Mary Sue (super-powered AND able to kick any human being's ass- he doesn't lose a single fistfight except for when he was a kid, and he's so super-handsome that every woman wants to lay with him), but I think it still holds up because of the great wordplay in the series, and how Jesse has to deal with things like Tulip being a "modern woman", and how he's always searching for a cool new friend (or uses mercy against some of his more pitiful enemies).
28) PROFESSOR XAVIER
Whose brilliance is responsible: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chris Claremont & John Byrne
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
3 (head of the X-Men, Illuminati member)
Pathos (x2):
2 (lost the use of his legs twice, lost a half-dozen super-girlfriends, has watched his Dream nearly die countlessly, and buried dozens of students)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2 (a powerful, unemotional man who is driven by morality and unity, but does many, many dark things to keep his Dream alive)
Epic:
3 (the most powerful Telepath on Earth)
Original:
3 (a wheelchair-bound psionic is pretty unique, and he debuted well before Marvel could have been copying the Doom Patrol)
Iconic/Influential (x2):
1 (Super-telepaths became a lot more common once the X-Men became popular)
Good Design (x2):
0 Relevance:
2 (got more important as the decades went on)
Relatable:
0Conflicts & Relationships:
3 (the way he plays off of Magneto is legendary, and his relationships with the students- X-Men, New Mutants, etc., are perfect as well. One of the people in comics more interesting when he's talking than when he's using his powers)
AWESOME FACTOR: 24 (the best "mentor" character in comics)-Professor Xavier is obviously one of the defining characters of the entire X-verse, being the heart of everything. A stern taskmaster in the '60s, he developed into his most well-rounded form under Chris Claremont, who used him leading the adult X-Men and pontificating philosophically more than actually helping out in fights to maximum potential. In the end, Chuck had fascinating relationships with Cyclops (his greatest student & accomplishment), Jean Grey (his most loved student), The Beast (a partner in science), Wolverine (a nasty rivalry turned respectful), Jubilee & Kitty (annoying young students who nonetheless loved him), Magneto (his best friend turned greatest rival), and more.
-The only problems any writers ever had with him was his great powers, which required CONSTANT work and careful monitoring. He was depowered frequently, even more than Banshee was. He vanished into space at least once. Various X-teams had to go on extended vacations all over the world just to avoid having Chuck be in the stories. Nearly EVERY SINGLE ENEMY had to have some kind of device (even on their henchmen!) that prevented them from simply being mentally taken over, ending the fight in two seconds. Ladies & gentlemen, this is why you should be careful in showcasing characters with supremely powerful abilities that are also not combat-related (ie. Wolverine or Hulk being powerful is OK, because they at least FIGHT; Professor X can end every fight without ANY action at all, which is much lamer).
Two kids and STILL the hottest woman in the Marvel Universe.27) THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
Whose brilliance is responsible: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
2 (Probably Marvel's top woman)
Pathos (x2):
1 (lost her baby once, plus gets neglected by Reed)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2Epic:
3 (now considered THE most powerful FF member. KO'd the Hulk once. Broke into a Celestial once, too)
Original:
1 (a weird mix of powers you don't often see. The "whiny woman superhero" thing hadn't been done at the time, and "Combat Mom" is STILL a rare heroic trope)
Iconic/Influential (x2):
1 (maybe the first Team Mom character in comics)
Good Design (x2):
1 (just classically cool. A total MILF, but isn't over-the-top or slutty about it)
Relevance:
2 (sexist in the '60s, but updated to modern times, especially under John Byrne)
Relatable:
0Conflicts & Relationships:
2 (the whole FF gets at LEAST a "2". I mean, they're the ultimate "Fighting Family" in comics)
AWESOME FACTOR: 20 (OK, yeah, SHE's the most perfect wife ever)-Sue Storm started out a pretty sexist concept, really. A girl more obsessed with haircuts than the latest crime, she pouted when Reed wouldn't pay attention to her, and wilted in the arms of super-villains and half-naked seamen. Once, she even risked the entire team's lives by turning invisible in a dangerous area just to get them to pay attention to her new hairdo (this really happened)! It got progressively better as time went on, especially once she started developing her powers beyond "make stuff invisible", until John Byrne (perhaps taking a bit of the fetish for strong women from his X-Men co-writer) finalized it, by terming her the Invisible WOMAN, and amping her force field powers into basically an invisible Green Lantern Ring. Suddenly, she became a super-powerful den mother, unafraid to absolutely SCHOOL the villains of the day. It's pretty much well-established these days that Sue is BY FAR the most powerful and useful member of the team, and the VERY LAST one that you want to piss off.
-Sue was the initial uber-pin-up babe of the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, and that's something that occasionally gets dropped by the wayside. I guess it had to happen, in the era of swimsuit costumes and asian super-heroines, but every once in a while, they remind you that she's supposed to be pretty, drop-dead style. The "Reed is Dead, So I Guess I'll Wear a Super-Bikini" era is a good example of that, but it's usually the protective Mama Bear thing that pulls off "teh sexay" these days. Hey, Moms can be hot too, dammit. Especially when being all protective and angry (remember what she did to Taskmaster when he hurt Reed in Civil War? Yowza- hottest Marvel-lady ever).
Ooh-delally! Dated or not, this look needs to come back.26) DONNA TROY
Whose brilliance is responsible: Bob Haney & Bruno Premiani
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
0Pathos (x2):
3 (Jesus Christ, her SON DIED)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2 (the Team Mom of the Titans, but also a bubbly individual, and the nicest person around, who will nonetheless smack her friends into line)
Epic:
0Original:
0Iconic/Influential (x2):
0Good Design (x2):
3 (practically the perfect woman. Lithe, athletic and raven-haired. Like Wonder Woman, but approachable-looking and un-stodgy)
Relevance:
0Relatable:
1Conflicts & Relationships:
2 (played very well off of Nightwing, Kory and the other Titans- a family like the FF, without the brawling the X-Men had. A cute sister-bond with Diana as well)
AWESOME FACTOR: 19 (I apparently just have a fetish for "Team Mom" characters. I make no apologies.)-Donna Troy is probably my favourite of the Teen Titans. She's actually a weird kind of character in comics; a "Den Mother" archetype who likes everyone, tries to keep them all happy, but isn't afraid to lecture and scorn the ones who need it. Funny for a character whose creation was accidental- she was added to the Teen Titans comic because the writer saw some "Wonder Girl" stories and figured he'd toss this 'sidekick' in, without realizing that she was actually a Superboy-like situation of a younger version of the heroine (hard to blame the guy- WW stories at the time FREQUENTLY depicted both Woman and Girl side-by-side because of time hiccups or something, often alongside Wonder Tot). With such a weird origin, it's almost hard to believe it took them two decades to explain it, but "Who is Donna Troy?" in the 80s run became one of comics' finest stories (it's still copied today, usually still for Donna).
-In it, we discovered that Donna was a child saved from a fire by Wonder Woman, after a REALLY long series of events, being tossed into different orphanages (and even becoming part of a child-selling scam). In the eighties, she became one of the most mature characters in comics, and actually had a relationship with a 'normal man', a gun-shy history professor named Terry Long, who just couldn't write that big paper. Her wedding was one of the big touchstones of Wolfman & Perez' run, in which one of the greatest "Dick & Bruce" scenes was written (where Bruce explained to Dick why he never adopted him the way he was then doing for Jason Todd- because he couldn't 'replace' the memory Dick's real parents, and Jason never really had any), and there were great character moments all over the place.
-And then the Crisis happened. Donna Troy still stands as possibly the character MOST screwed up by the Crisis, and that's SAYING something. People who read my rantings during my JSA/All-Star series of builds remembers me talking about Wonder Woman getting messed-up by being re-introduced as a rookie heroine in the modern DCU by Perez. Well that ended up mixing up Perez' beloved Donna (he's openly stated she was the hottest & best female character he did), as later writers ended up adding retcon after retcon to explain why the teenage Donna Troy chose a nickname based off of a hero who'd yet to be seen (it got an addendum when Hippolyta went back in time to become the Golden Age Wonder Woman after all- Donna was 'inspired' by her), and later why she was friends with someone she (by that time) had never grown up around. They did ANOTHER "Who is Donna Troy?" story in the Pelletier-drawn Titans in the 90s, where they finally tied it all together, only for her death to come when that Titans series crashed and burned.
-Donna's death actually led to something, as she got reborn in a pretty boring "Return of Donna Troy" mini-series (the Titans of Myth being major villains loses it's effect when you consider they'd almost never been seen till that point), and became the centre of the new Multiverse, remembering all the past worlds, which actually let her keep ALL of her origins. And to this day, Donna Troy has by far the hardest origin to explain in comics. And when she shares a universe with Post-Crisis Wonder Woman, Kara/Linda/Kara Supergirls, Connor/Kon Superboy, and more, that's a REALLY hard one. Still, she's one of my favourite comic book characters. Beautiful, smart, super-nice to everyone, and powerful. She's like the ideal girlfriend!
25) BLACK ADAM
Whose brilliance is responsible: Otto Binder & C.C. Beck
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
2 (grew very much so recently, being a dictator/super-warrior)
Pathos (x2):
3 (He's lost two families, and his whole country)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2 (a noble lordly type, who is nonetheless a dark, murderous savage when provoked)
Epic:
3 (hangs in the Superman class, and holds off the entire JSA at times)
Original:
0Iconic/Influential (x2):
0Good Design (x2):
1 (looks cool now that they've copied Namor's characteristics onto him)
Relevance:
2 (became big decades after his debut)
Relatable:
0Conflicts & Relationships:
3 (his respectful relationship to the JSA elders, his brother relationship with Atom Smasher, and his rivalry with the Marvel Family are all done very well)
AWESOME FACTOR: 22 (not many villains go on to surpass the hero they were made to fight in terms of popularity and world-relevance. Adam does it with ease- though you might want to blame DC's mishandling of the Batsons)-Black Adam is one of Geoff Johns' MANY successful "Hey, that guy's cool now" feats in comics, alongside David Goyer (see Power Girl, Mr. Terrific, Dr. Mid-Nite, etc.), turning a former goofy Captain Marvel villain (though he is the first "Superhero recoloured as a bad guy" character I can think of ) into a bad-ass anti-hero with real reasons behind his actions; effectively becoming one of the DCU's best characters. During JSA, you got the sense that you could understand every decision he made, even if it wasn't the one you would make yourself.
-Recent history has been kind of weird to Black Adam, as he's been de-powered, re-powered, given powers by Mary Marvel (or given them to her, I forget), lost his wife, found her, etc. All that remains is a bitter, imperious man, though EXCEPTIONALLY violent, to the point where people question just HOW nasty the violence in comics needs to be, as Adam's flying THROUGH people, tearing faces and eyes open, and demolishing millions of people. Even his little brother figure Atom Smasher realized once and for all that Adam had gone way too far when he annihilated the country of Bialya. It turns out that a psychotic mass-murderer was hiding behind that "anti-hero" all along.
24) DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR
Whose brilliance is responsible: Marv Wolfman & George Perez
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
3 (a huge DC villain)
Pathos (x2):
2 (lost all of his children, then his wife)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2 (honorable, but also a totally lethal killer. He could be loving, but was mostly heartless)
Epic:
3 (kicked the entire Titans' asses several times, and the whole JLA in Identity Crisis)
Original:
2 (geokinetics were NOT that common back then)
Iconic/Influential (x2):
2 (the first "mole" in super-teams)
Good Design (x2):
2 (love the cool hood effect)
Relevance:
2 (went from the '80s to a solo star in the '90s, to being a mega-villain today)
Relatable:
0Conflicts & Relationships:
2 (huge rivalries with tons of heroes)
AWESOME FACTOR: 28-Slade's got a long and storied history for a guy who started as a mastermind villain in a brand-new teen hero book designed to be DC's answer to the X-Men's success in the late 70s. Hell, he got the kind of start that would likely fail if tried today, where a 'lesser' version of himself went up against the Titans first, only to die from his own stupidity, necessitating Slade taking the lesser one (his son Grant)'s place. But the way he did it, by getting a spy put onto the team (good ol' Terra), SLEEPING WITH HER (even though she was fifteen, sixteen, tops), then taking the Titans out in their homes when they least expected it, sealed the deal, making him a legendary villain. Of course, they did the standard 'he's not so bad after all' thing, as without a mercenary contract out on the Titans, he had no reason to hate them, and actually had a bunch of relatively polite conversations with Changeling about Terra and their relationship and stuff like that.
-He even got a fairly long-running solo series in the 90s, which of course is almost completely forgotten today, as are most 90s solo runs of non-major characters. I think it's only remaining link to nowadays is Rose Wilson, aka Ravager II. But he got a MAJOR boost to the big leagues thanks to his run in the Secret Society's inner circle and a vendetta against Green Arrow (lousy Ollie, stealing the Titans' best villain... well, I guess he still menaces them too...).
-Ooh, funny story about his name, too. Sounds clumsy, don't it? And in the cartoon he's just "Slade". Well, he WAS just "The Terminator" for years from his first apperanace on, but then a little movie came out by the same name, which ended up being a whole hell of a lot more famous than a villain in a comic series. Suddenly, this "Deathstroke" name gets added onto it. And then the Titans cartoon can't use THAT name either, because of the word "Death" in it, so he just goes by his real name. Bizarre stuff, the kind of thing that only happens in comic books and pro wrestling.
23) THANOS
Whose brilliance is responsible: Jim Starlin
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
3 (threatens all life more than any other villain, and has been at the centre of a dozen cosmic-spanning storylines)
Pathos (x2):
1 (does all that he does for a girl)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
1 (has a small degree of honour, and does it all for love)
Epic:
3 (Starlin pushes this to Mary Sue levels, but he's always a supreme powerhouse)
Original:
0Iconic/Influential (x2):
2 (a lot of the '90s Cosmic Villains sprung from him)
Good Design (x2):
2 (purple, orange and blue normally wouldn't look this cool, but he's got an impressive stature despite it)
Relevance:
2 (Debuted in the '70s, but hit biggest in the '90s)
Relatable:
0Conflicts & Relationships:
1 (feuds with various cosmic heroes like the Surfer, Warlock & Drax)
AWESOME FACTOR: 21-Where to start with Thanos? Initially, he was just some generic bad-ass space alien dude, and drawn alot skinnier. Getting bigger and meaner over time, he developed into Jim Starlin's personal little Villain Sue baby; an unstoppable force of death & destruction, devoted to destroying all life in the universe. Especially mean because he was no only the equivalent of every powerhouse in Marvel Comics, but he was ALSO depicted as a Doom-level genius and planner. Jim Starlin repeatedly tried to make Thanos' Master Planning abilities not just an "Informed Ability", and so we got things like "Thanos Quest", where Thanos gained the Infinity Gems from the Elders of the Universe by one-upping each guy using his last Gem (some criticize the Elders for acting like complete idiots and falling right into his traps, but I rather liked it anyways). His final triumph was in "Infinity Gauntlet", and then his aiding the heroes againgst The Magus in the far-inferior "Infinity War". Through it all, Thanos has become one of Marvel's most epic, all-encompassing threats, a force that still brings out the "Holy SH*T!" moments better than any other villain in comics. Generally speaking, everyone acknowledges him as the most dangerous recurring villain around.
-Hell, this guy's so awesome that the villain generally considered his basis, Darkseid, is now LOWER on the Totem Pole of Villain Awesome! Of course, he has the occasional loss to Ka-Zar or Squirrel Girl under his belt, but that's been Doombotted away, anyhow.
22) BETTY COOPER
Whose brilliance is responsible: Vic Bloom & Bob Montana
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
3 (a huge part of the comics- they wouldn't work without her)
Pathos (x2):
3 (She can just. never. keep. ARCHIE!)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
2 (the sweetest girl in town, but can connive & lie with the best of them to get her man)
Epic:
1 (possibly the strongest girl in Riverdale when angry)
Original:
0Iconic/Influential (x2):
3 (THE Good Girl in comics. Hell, female skaters were called "Betties" thanks to her. No Love Triangle is more notable that I can think of)
Good Design (x2):
1 (classic hot blonde tomboy)
Relevance:
0Relatable:
2 (the more "normal" girl in Riverdale, really)
Conflicts & Relationships:
3 (the famous Love Triangle, plus the friendly thing with Jughead, and her frenemy-relationship with Ron)
AWESOME FACTOR: 27 (the ULTIMATE "Good Girl" in all of fiction. Anyone more "good" is uninteresting and/or too preachy, and anyone more "bad" goes over into "Bad Girl")-The Love Triangle here is one so intense, with so many aspects to it, that it may as well be the Ur-Example in all of fiction. 'Twasn't the first, not the last, and not the most complicated, but there's a reason Love Triangles are statted out by The Archie, The Betty and The Veronica. Poor Betty here represents The Betty: The less forceful, more needy, sad loner in the triad, constantly forced to watch as Ronnie wrests her easily-led "Archiekins" out of her grasp. Of course complicating matters is the fact that both girls are BEST FRIENDS, and ultimately cheer for the other in any NON-Archie context. Now, how intense their rivalry and hatred for each other regarding Archie depends on the story, but most often, it's kind of a "we're best friends, but we hate stuff about each other, and fight over the same man" Frenemies-type thing. In real life, it'd probably be a WHOLE LOT less pretty than that, but remember what I said about Archie not really being an accurate reflection of actual teenage life. Then again, my sisters had all sorts of friends they told horrible stories about behind their backs. Maybe women are just a thousand times more evil than men. Nah, couldn't be :).
-Now, Betty as a character APART from Archie is often just as interesting. Initially portrayed as a fairly dopey blonde in earlier stories (just read some of the clearly-'50s-based bits in Digests), the Girl Power (better known as "Women's Lib") movement of the 60s hit, turning Betts into a wise, intelligent car mechanic with a plethora of skills. If it weren't for her never getting Archie, Betty would be the Mary Sue of a fanfic written by herself. Her "Betty's Diary" stories are among the best Archie stories around, because they have the classic "Self-Narrative" that's so popular in today's comics (it was way ahead of it's time in that regard), and often have the most poignant moments and storytelling. They dealth with alot of personal issues (obviously with a more kiddie bent) like dating, love, friendship, jealousy, etc., and were really a breath of fresh air from the "Whacky Antics" Archie gags. Oftentimes, her Diary issues didn't even have a joke at the end! They showed a lot more of the 'inner Betty' and her own family group (basically like Archie's, right down the hard-working chubby dad, but with SIBLINGS... both of whom are rarely remembered by modern-day writers. Poor Chick & Polly- they debuted in "Little Archie" stories, but only became "main continuity" characters since 1990 or so, but few writers use them).
-I was always most interested in her relationship to Jughead, personally. Initially antagonistic (she was a "dame" and Jughead was VERY misogynistic in the early decades), they eventually became good friends, as Juggie was the only defender of Betty, often browbeating Archie for leaving her out in the cold. Jughead openly admitted Betty was the only girl he could see himself kissing (setting off a thousand Shipping sails- mine included!) back when that was an impossibility, and she similarly was closer to him than any other guy, admitting things that she never even told Archie. Betty rocks. I'm a big Betty supporter, and think Veronica supporters are sad people who have low self-esteem, so they want mean Ronnie to rule over them :).
21) MAGIK
Whose brilliance is responsible: Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum
Signifiers of Awesome:Important:
0Pathos (x2):
3 (an innocent young girl, THROWN INTO HELL, and turned into a half-devil sorceress. Then there's what happened to her AFTER she was de-aged)
Multi-Faceted (x2):
3 (a good person directly drawn towards the darkness. Heroic, but also very evil)
Epic:
1 (especially once she goes into Limbo)
Original:
3 (A teleporting/time-travelling demon sorceress teenager with a super-sword)
Iconic/Influential (x2):
0Good Design (x2):
1 (a great, cool evil character design. You totally bought her as dark jailbait)
Relevance:
2 (surprisingly missed the entire '90s, despite being PERFECT for that decade)
Relatable:
1 (kind of a metaphor for the mercurial hot/cold nature of teenagers, really)
Conflicts & Relationships:
2 (her & Kitty, a villainous counterpart/father in Belasco, etc.)
AWESOME FACTOR: 23-Magik really helped the New Mutants come into their own, basically replacing the flat Karma character with a vaguely-Satanic witch-princess, a little girl stripped of her innocence and childhood by being teleported to Limbo to become the slave of Demon Prince Belasco. A great four-issue Limited Series showcased little Illyana learning White Magic alongside Limbo's version of Storm (there was some confusing-ass stuff going on regarding parallel timelines and stuff, just ignore it), swordfighting alongside Kitty Pryde, and Black Magic alongside Belasco when he finally gained control over her. She nonetheless fought back, defeating him with all her combined experiences, and she teleported back to Earth at the same moment she left as a little girl, leaving everyone a little confused.
-Magik was a CLASSIC "Bad Girl", saying mean things, being nasty to the bad guys, and often condemning common henchmen to Limbo's Demons (which her teammates rarely chided her for- despite the implications of what would happen to them there), and there was this constant impression that her soul was condemned to hell, and she would go evil some day. Magickal Armour kept appearing on her in slowly-increasing amounts over time, eventually resulting in a full-on Darkchylde form, and things finally came to a head during "Inferno". Unfortunately, "Inferno" sucked, coming across more as Claremont doing a bunch of acid and then writing than something he actually bothered to plot effectively, and Louise Simonson's issues of the Cross-Over resultedin Illyana fully changing over to the Darkchylde, but getting tossed back into Limbo and destroyed, producing the original young girl Illyana again.
-Fans went NUTS over this, as the Letters Pages at the time was full of nothing but "Please bring Magik back!" for YEARS, well into the X-Force days (at the time, I had no idea who she was- before my time). Turns out that Bad Girl Jailbait appeals to some people, I guess. But yeah, she was a GREAT character, and a big symbol of the series and the decade, since the character never made it to the 90s. By the time we saw young Illyana again, she was kidnapped by government agents and taken to the X-Mansion, where, in the most depressing story EVER, she slowly and painfully succumbed as the first victim of The Legacy Virus, a big 90s Plot Device to get rid of lame characters. Fans were upset AGAIN, threatening to stop reading forever, etc., but it had way more emotional impact than almost anything else in that decade- it was horrifying and sad to see a group of super-powered adults slowly watch as a young girl died, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Colossus had some of his greatest moments at this point, missing out on his sister's death while on a mission, and going berserk and nearly murdering Trevor "Crappy Villain" Fitzroy.
-They teased "Magik" returns for YEARS, bringing out a series with lame background character Amanda Sefton as the ruler of Limbo, before FINALLY pulling the trigger a few years back, bringing newbie Pixie into things, and Illyana was back as a dark-minded, sarcastic, vicious young woman, and rejoined her brother and the New Mutants once more. The resulting storyline is so confusing on Wikipedia that I can't even hope to figure out what happened, but what the hell? Magik is back, and that's all that matters.
