A Humanoid Typhoon Would Fit In With The Other Disasters

I originally discussed this in response to Fantastic Fangirls' Q & A #140, but my comment was a tad incoherent, because I got so wrapped up in possibilities I forgot to proofread. Appalling, I know. So I'm going to try it again.

Question: What manga character would you like to see in the Marvel or DC Universe?

Vash the Stampede from Trigun, into the Marvel Universe. He already feels a lot like a Marvel character. He lost someone very important to him, but the lessons she imparted are what drives him to try to save everyone. He likes to help people, but also has an immense power he can't always control, capable of devastating cities. If it weren't for his protecting humanity from his genocidal brother*, there'd be a fair question whether he's done more harm than good. Oh, and he's feared and hated by humans he swears to protect. Partially because of his destructive capability (even if I don't think most people have any idea how he manages it), and partially because I think people know on some instinctive level that he's different from them. Which makes them afraid, and that's dangerous.

A little Spidey, a little Hulk, a little X-Men. He'd fit right in. He has the silly personality most of the time, which could be to put people at ease if they're concerned about his reputation. I think it could also be because he prefers to find the lighter side of things, rather than sink into depression. Kind of similar to how you can see Spider-Man's jokes as a defense mechanism, but they could simply be Peter Parker letting loose a little, showing the sarcasm and humor he didn't often get to when he was a bullied academic. It may be an act, but it also has an element of truth to it.

Vash has a seemingly endless optimism within. Even having lived over a hundred years, having seen and been subject to a variety of cruelties inflicted by his brother and humanity, he still has compassion for both. He still believes humans are worth protecting, that people will revert to their better values given a chance, and that conflicts can be settled without bloodshed. He doesn't always manage to carry it off, but he continues to try (allowing for his occasional fall into a funk after being forced to destroy another city). Maybe that would be a foolish attitude to maintain in the Marvel Universe, where no situation is so bad it can't be made worse by yet another Norman Osborn ascendancy. But it can't hurt to have a consistently upbeat person around to counter some gloom and doom, lend a little hope to the proceedings.

OK that's more thematic, but there are any number of stories I'd enjoy seeing with him. Assuming his $$60 billion bounty carried over, the Marvel U. is full of colorful hitmen. From Taskmaster, to Deadpool, the Sinister Syndicate, or this Bruiser fellow Waid just created, all the way down to guys like Chance or the Trapster. Would I like to see Vash dodging Arcade's death traps? Yes, yes I would. At least some of the Gung-Ho Guns would fit right in. An assassin who uses lethal soundwaves from a saxophone (though it goes beyond that), when he's not fronting a band in his white suit and pink shirt?

He's potentially long-lived enough you could have some adventures set in the past, dealing with Mr. Sinister (who would almost certainly be interested in the power Vash and Knives have), or maybe some prior avatar of Khonshu. Or a Ghost Rider, or Two-Gun Kid. I mean, you'd almost have to do something with Marvel's Western characters at some point, given the style of Trigun. Or there could be adventures in the far future. Vash meets the X-Men of 2099, both sides still struggling for acceptance. There's no telling what might have happened with the plants by then. Probably nothing good, given the stuff Alcehmax and the rest got up to. Maybe the plants are getting a little fed up with how humanity treats them, or Stark-Fujikawa created some knockoff Knives and surprise! lost control of them. Or some iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Look, if freaking Wonder Man can make it to the 30th Century, I refuse to believe Vash can't ration his power to last at least that long.

On a planet that has Damage Control and Night Nurse, the Bernardelli Insurance Company could certainly exist. Though with as many superhumans as it would have to contend with, Vash might not be nearly the priority he was in his series. Would Bernardelli hire superhumans to use to try and prevent trouble? Go and shut down villainous acts before they start?

Though really, Vash seems perfectly suited for a run in with the childlike version of Hulk. Because trying to befriend the behemoth is exactly the sort of thing Vash would do. Things are going well, beans and donuts are being shared, until some aspiring hitman takes a shot at Vash, and succeeds in enraging the Hulk. Which leads to the Hulk going on one of his town destroying rampages, with Vash trying to calm him down or divert him. Failing that protect all the townspeople by getting the Hulk mad at him, so that now he's trying not to get smashed. And that pesky triggerman just doesn't know when to leave well enough alone.

* I still contend naming Vash's brother Knives was a horrible idea. I mean, Knives, really.