If you read the Comics Should Be Good website, you may recall Brian Cronin's "Top 50 Marvel and DC Characters" list, where people sent in their top tens, and Mr. Cronin did yeoman's work sorting them out, and getting everything organized, and eventually expanding the lists to Top 100, then Top 200, then finally "Here's All the Votes!" I didn't participate myself. I couldn't think of 10 DC characters (I was just going to list my favorites, since he said you could use whatever criteria you wanted), and with Marvel I couldn't narrow it down to 10. I do have a DC list now, still haven't figured out that Marvel one yet. During the countdown, there was some discussion that the lists were more a reflection of what characters were prominent currently, rather than what characters were "best", however you would define that. There were some charges of elitism thrown around (because that always happens), before everyone pretty much agreed that the lists were just a generally good gauge of what characters were well-liked (or well-written, or prominent) right now, and that has merit in of itself.
I was thinking about that list recently, and thinking about the discussions in the comments about who might have ranked a decade ago, or will rank a decade from now. Then I thought there might be a way to guess, in the form of trading cards. I figure what characters get cards would probably reflect who's "in" at the time, and I just so happen to have my Marvel Universe Series 3 set, circa 1992, here at the digs (all my other sets are stored elsewhere, with most of my comics), so I'm just going to flip through, and see what jumps out, kay?
- It should surprise nobody that Totally Awesome Team of the '90s X-Force! is prominently featured. Of the 70 card labeled as "Heroes", seven are listed as members of that team (Cannonball, Domino, Shatterstar, Cable, Warpath, Siryn, and, sigh, Feral). Why no love for Boom-Boom?
- Somewhat more surprising (to me, anyway) is Excalibur's strong showing. Phoenix, Captain Britain, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Meggan amongst the heroes, Cerise and Kylun listed under "Rookies". I hadn't figured that team to be that big a draw. I wonder, was Claremont off the other X-Books, and this was his only title back then? I know this is from after the X-Men split into "Blue" and "Gold" teams, for what that's worth. His association might explain it.
- The New Warriors were apparently yesterday's news by then, since Namorita, Night Thrasher and Nova were the only "Heroes" listed, and Silhouette got a rookie card. Even back then, Speedball got no love (though he did get a Marvel Universe Series 4 card). That puts the Warriors on equal ground with the Guardians of the Galaxy (Major Victory, Charlie-27, Starhawk, and Talon as a rookie). Color me surprised.
- The Wasp and Hank Pym got shut out. Scott Lang (Ant-Man) did not.
-Captain America got a card, U.S. Agent didn't. At least there's some justice. Xavier got a card, and Jubilee didn't. Weird. You'd figure with the number of X-People already in here, Jubilation Lee could have gotten hooked up. She was on the team by then (on the Blue team's "Teams" card, she's in the group shot).
- The Hardcore Era was in full swing. Ghost Rider, Blaze, Punisher, Deathlok, Morbius, Silver Sable, Nomad with his baby(?!), and Weapon Omega (!!!!!!) all get cards. Hawkeye - freaking Hawkeye! - gets nothing. And for the record, he didn't get a card in Series 4, either. Friggin' Doc Samson got a card in Series 4, but Clint Barton can't get no card love? The West Coasters as a whole got stiffed, except Iron Man. he probably didn't tell the rest of the team when to show up for their trading card photos, that's what it was.
- Ghost Rider villains I've never heard of (Zodiak, Blackout) are represented. Excalibur villain Necrom, and the New Warriors foe the Sphinx (the female version) both show up, and I guess they had both been big movers and shakers within the previous year. Doctor Octopus? Nothin'.
- For that matter, none of the Sinister Six got cards (unless you count Hobgoblin, which I guess you can), but you better believe the Slug has a card. Woohoo, the Slug! A crime boss in Marvel hotspot Miami, that can't even stand. Yeah boy, bet the kids were desperate for the Slug. I know I was back then*.
*I was not. In fact, I recall being befuddled by this card. 'Who the hell is this?', my elementary school self wondered. The card helped, but not enough to make me figure he was worth the card.
- At least Dr. Doom and Magneto made the cut. Got to respect the old masters.
- Infinity Gauntlet's effect shone through, as Adam Warlock and Thanos showed up. So did Magus. Has he appeared since Marvel got past the whole "Infinity Whatever" phase?
- I'm sure it will surprise no one that Venom and Carnage were there. I'm sure I actually was glad about that, may I be forgiven for youthful imbecility. Harry Osborn Green Goblin got a card. Good for him. Oddly enough, so did the Rose, and a cyborg version of Silvermane. But no Mysterio or Electro. I am befuddled.
- Oh yeah, Mephisto got a card, too. Booooo!
- That program that goes into killer robots, Shiva, got a card. Prior to Wolverine: Origins #1, had Shiva even appeared since Wolverine trashed it back in Wolverine #50 (first series)? They also included the Destroyer Armor, which unless someone's life force gets sucked into it, is inert. No Ultron though. Odd. He must have been taking some time off. The Mad Thinker got some love, that was nice. And so did Dracula. Did he ever fight Ghost Rider?
- Amongst time travelers, Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man was honored, but Kang was not. If I recall, Immortus was showing up in West Coast Avengers around then, which may explain that. No Fitzroy, either. I'm not complaining mind you, but they included Bishop as a "Rookie", you'd think they would include the guy that was his arch-foe, the fellow who "killed" the White Queen the first time I saw him.
- There was a "Cosmic Entities" section, which had the usual suspects like Galactus and the Stranger, but also Death and the Celestials. The fun thing was, Series 3 cards all had a quote from the characters, some more memorable than others. On Death's card it says 'Death speaks through actions, not words', and the Celestials got 'The Celestials do not speak when lesser beings are present'. Nice. Celestials are real jackasses, won't even give a quote for their trading card. Must have been a pain for their high school's Yearbook Committee.
- There was a section of cards devoted to "Teams". It was all heroes, with one exception: The Serpent Society. I know Marvel villains don't have the track record of consistent partnerships like say, Flash's Rogue's, but there weren't any other teams to include? Some iteration of the Masters of Evil, or the Sinister Six? They'd appeared in Spider-Man throughout the first half of '92, and the middle of '90, so it's not like they didn't have recent exposure. I guess I mostly just can't figure choosing the Serpent Society. Maybe they had a consistent roster, I don't know.
- Just for kicks, I want to mention that the last few cards are labeled "Milestones". One of which happens to be the "Marriage of Spider-Man", a scant five years old at the time. I can't decide what would be a better representation of that One Story: To throw that card away, or tape it to the Mephisto card. For the record, I plan to do neither, I'm just musing.
- Also listed was the Human Torch finding out he married a Skrull. I'd imagine that one is out these days. The Fall of the Kingpin. I liked that story, but it didn't really take for another 15 years, did it? Fisk (who did get a card, fyi) just kept hanging around, or setting up shop in Asia, if I recall that issue of X-Men that also told us Sebastian Shaw wasn't dead, correctly. Man, a lot used to happen in a single issue. Most of the rest are still in effect, though. Coming of Galactus. Death of Gwen Stacy. Kree/Skrull War. Operation Galactic Storm (I know they referenced that in Civil War). Not sure about Inferno, Atlantis Attacks, or "All Hulks Unite" (the story that created the really big, really smart Hulk that worked with the Pantheon and used guns). That story said that Hulk was a combination of Hulk and Banner, but now it's just considered another manifestation of the Hulk, right? I guess it could still count.
- One thing I want to investigate is if the more recently introduced characters demonstrated staying power, using characters introduced within the five years prior to these cards (1987-1992). Are they still big names? Are they bit players? Do they just show up in the back of team photos? Did they die a horrible death and haven't returned yet? But it looks like there might be quite a few of those, so I'll save that for tomorrow.
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6 comments:
Man that's a blast from the past. Ah, High School days. As for your question about Excalibur, I think Claremont was writing Uncanny, "Adjectiveless" and Excalibur at that time. So I guess they just wanted to keep in his good graces.
As for the Slug card, I don't even remember that guy, and I think I was reading every Marvel title back then, just thank God it wasn't yet time for Maggot to premier on the scene.
Also, did Carnage exist in 1992? I thought he came about during my comics-less college years.
I actually don't think Claremont was writing Excalibur at that point. His final issue was #32, and the whole Necrom thing took place around 50.
Alan Davis would've been writing in that period most likely.
Ah, a little nostalgia. My daughter used to collect the Marvel trading cards, so I'm sure we have some of them kicking around somewhere.
It's SO much fun to look through all of them, and realize that half of them are dead, dead but resurrected, married, dead, and probably Skrulls.
If Feral turns out to be a Skrull, does that make her more, or less, lame?
jason: Well, at the time I think the Slug had appeared in two comics, and neither in the '90s, so I think you can get a pass. And according to the his card, Carnage premiered in the spring of '92.
seangreyson: If that's the case, then I can't explain it, unless Marvel just figured there are a lot former X-Men on the team, better make sure they get cards.
sallyp: No doubt about it. Looking up some of these characters online, it's funny to see some of them haven't appeared in a dozen years, or their identities have been usurped by someone else.
jason: Well, she died in that Loeb story in Wolverine, didn't she? So "Skrull" would probably be a step up from dead, especially if she's always been a Skrull, because then she'd be over a decade ahead of the curve. Think about it, such a trendsetter, we all thought she was lame.
We all knew the Celestials were jerks. The best comic ever told us so.
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