DC’s Neglected Heroes… when I look back on how James Gunn chooses his castings with less known characters, I can’t help but think they’re lucky. If Peacemaker becoming a hit doesn’t say so, I don’t know what to tell you. Before all of his more recent appearances, he was a pretty forgettable hero people couldn’t take seriously. Now there are stories with C or D-Listers that diehard DC fans refuse to accept. But is that problem with how these characters have changed? Or does it have something to do with more casual fans enjoying them? If not, maybe it’s how DC does business. Let’s take a closer look.
DC’s Neglected Heroes Terms and Conditions
DC Comics has a long history approaching 100 years with thousands of characters under its label. With all of that history, there are bits that people are going to miss. Because let’s face it, not everyone can be as iconic as Superman or Batman. Thankfully a few characters get niche audiences, enough to show readers that you don’t have to be viral to tell good stories. Although with changing times most people’s attitudes towards things shift.
Take for example, Metamorpho the Element Man, one of Superman’s co-stars in Gunn’s movie. This cornball hero has all of the campy fun you can fit into a guy with the power to change his body into any material. But most modern media tends to lean towards the tragedy of his situation. Sometimes that includes his origin. In the old days, he got his iconic look from an ancient Egyptian artifact. These days whenever you see him on TV, Rex Mason got his powers from his boss’ company experiment. Both times were because Rex was in a relationship with his boss’ daughter. With these more serious setups, Metamorpho became less of a layered funnyman and more of a straight virgin.
FYI: classic Rex Mason’s not a Chad. People actually want to be around him in the long run with the right team. Just ask Mark Waid.
When Trends Become Too Much
Rex’s takes aren’t as vocal as other stuff but it runs on the same principles. Like in Mark Russell’s One-Star Squadron, Power Girl is a corporate shark willing to tear down anything in her path to success. Even if that means backstabbing friends and colleagues. Unlike the classic character who led her own company and gave it all up because being a superhero was more fulfilling. Needless to say, Power Girl fans were not happy about this. And she’s just the tip of the iceberg to that miniseries with C-Listers like Red Tornado and D-Listers like Flying Fox.
Similar things have been thrown at Tom King and how he reimagines characters. Making the retro-futurist adventurer Adam Strange into a war criminal in reaction to a mean tweet. How Justice League International‘s Fire & Ice are femme fatales in Human Target. Most recently, Danger Street using characters from the extremely obscure 1st Issue Special in an epic noir fairy tale. One of which was Metamorpho and he barely did anything.
So yeah, most of these come down to how these fun loving adventurers take a level in cynic. Especially when compared to a Justice League Unlimited episode called Patriot Act. This episode stars little known heroes called the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The point is, this episode was a rejection of darker and edgier takes on niche characters. The whimsy and brightness of these people manage to triumph over indulging in post-9/11 attitudes by inspiring the masses.
Why Are These DC’s Neglected Heroes?
But how many masses have been inspired to find out about these heroes? What are the chances that some casual fans even remember them? Does that include the editors who are supposed to help provide quality and consistency control?
I’m going with no for the following reasons. Ask anybody who Power Girl is, most are going to say: The Supergirl who got some work done. Plus, a quick search for Metamorpho merch suggests there’s not a huge demand.
Now I’m sure some of you are thinking: “If these characters get the Grow The Beard treatment like Swamp Thing or Daredevil, they’d get recognized”.
But I’m not sure if publishers want to bother. For one Swamp Thing and Animal Man went viral unlike Black Orchid which paved the way for Neil Gaiman to create Sandman. No one even remembers the followup Black Orchid series.
Let’s Ask The Creators
On that same note, Black Orchid was on the bottom of a list of characters Gaiman wanted to work on. He even had to tell his editor who she was since everyone else was taken. Or so I’ve heard. But why; isn’t that an advantage to working on less known characters? A chance for creative freedom? True, but unless this goes viral, there really isn’t much point to working on characters for so little pay.
Sometimes even a great story a creator makes gets overshadowed by their more famous works. As is the case with Gail Simone’s debut DC mini-series Rose & Thorn. No joke, this is still highly recommended by whoever can find all of the issues. But out of all the things Simone did for DC, sometimes it takes a bit to remember that mini-series. Unlike Birds of Prey and Secret Six.
Heroes Aren’t The Only Ones Neglected
When you really get down to it, the situation with DC’s neglected heroes is nothing special. Many of the most successful entertainment businesses devote to only a few of their brands. For TV, you’ve got NBC’s Chicago franchise and CBS’s Big Bang Theory (and Young Sheldon). Meanwhile video game companies like Nintendo put their resources on their most popular franchises like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. All of their other franchises get outsourced to different developers. Even content creators with big productions like MrBeast and Team Theorist prioritize certain subjects. You don’t get Five Nights At Freddy’s because they want to, no matter exhausted the crew gets with it. And MrBeast can’t provide charitable vids every month compared to 7 Day Challenges or 1 to $X vids.
In fact ask anyone what DC’s best performing IP is by growth alone, chances are it’s Teen Titans Go! Because at the end of the day, it’s just common business sense to focus on your best performing brands. That’s why DC puts out so much Batman, anything in relation to him basically sells itself. No need to spend extra cash on advertising, even if it does result in burnout.
DC’s Gonna Neglect
Going back to the divided titles with C to D-Listers, creators are aware that these characters are stuck in a corporate trap. A lot of great stories could be told with more underrated characters to develop. But there’s not really a lot of demand to supply. Both the creators and the editors are either underpaid or too burned out to risk anything on practical nobodies. It’s a lot easier to comment on neglected heroes’ obscurity and the lengths they go for recognition than risk everyone’s time and money when people have so little of both.
But if DC and other IP farms are just going to prioritize their highest earners, why bother hoarding everything? Because they don’t wanna miss a chance to make money off of names that can grow? If that was true they wouldn’t turn away pitches with C-Listers like Ragman. Any time they do appear in recent times, it feels less like creators want to work on them and were assigned by executives to fill in a release gap. Like Ray Fawkes’ Ragman for example.
It’s just companies hoarding IPs out of greed and laziness.
Let The Public Handle It
If anything, it’s more feasible for everybody if some of the least used characters go into the public domain. A good example is in Peacemaker Tries Hard with Red Bee. While DC owns newer versions of this character, the original from the 40s is in the public domain. As a result of this accessibility, the writer Kyle Starks manages to make him a memorable funny guy with layers.
In fact, Duke Law School continues to study how only 2% of copyrights have any value after a certain amount of time. The other 98 just don’t have the royalties or recognition to support further circulation. Unlike public domain stories that parties can still profit from in small but sustainable ways. As is the case with Say Hello To Blackjack.
DC’s Neglected Heroes Need Saving
Not every DC superhero can be Superman or Batman. Some stories just aren’t going to inspire followings or ideas as much as others. While there’s always a chance to make a comeback with a new direction, not everybody goes viral. Production companies have to prioritize their best performers because it’s just more efficient for profit. Besides even the creators who work on well told stories can forget them when they move onto bigger things. Sometimes creators like more what characters and settings represent to them more than what they are. That causes a divide between new and old audiences. But maybe the problem isn’t the divide as it is accessibility. It’s just that greed has a way of influencing lazy behaviors like hoarding that makes it hard to optimize.
Until the day IP hoarding becomes a mainstream issue, DC’s neglected heroes are going to stay that way.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always, remember to look between the panels.