50 Best DC Characters (40-31)

Continuing with my picks for top 50 DC characters.

#40. Mr. Miracle (Scott Free)

Starting off as one of the more relatable of the wonderfully insane 70's Kirby DC characters, Mr. Miracle ended up getting integrated into the mainstream DC universe much more smoothly than expected. He still gets some fun alien on Earth stories without all the angst of Aquaman or J'onn. The late 80's series of him and Barda settling into the suburbs was really very enjoyable and managed to endear him to me for the forseeable future.



#39. Trickster (James Jesse)

The Trickster was fine in Silver Age Flash - managed to stand out among a great Rogue's Gallery - but really took off once he sort of lost his life's focus with Barry's death. His gradual rehabilitation in Blue Devil was very nicely handled, and made him the only reformed supervillain whose reformation I really bought. Once I started reading the Mark Waid Flash run, I was really pleased to see that James was working the same sort of tech support role there. Plus, the openly damaged Mark Hamill version on JLU was very nice. And will be discussed more later.


#38. Solomon Grundy

Grundy's gotten a more impressive run out of being a mindless rampaging brute than I think anyone would really expect. I think a lot of it is the wide flexibility allowed with the character (initially through editorial neglect, later through Robinson's great explanation of Solomon Grundy in Starman). Much like the Hulk, writers have a full gamut of rampaging beast, gentle giant, erudite scholar in monsterous body, etc. There is a certain degree of blank slate-ness with the character, which, I suppose, kind of undercuts his argument for inclusion on the list. Still, the sadness Robinson conveys when the gentle Grundy dies and his friends realize that a monsterous version would be returning was really well done.

#37. Green Arrow (Ollie Queen)

I've touched on this before, but Ollie really has become such an interesting character since he left behind his Batman-wannabe days. And, like many characters I like, he's kind of a jerk. He's pompous, lecherous, condescending - but he's generally well-intentioned. Or at least aware of some of his faults (at least his lecherousness), but doesn't really dwell on his inability to change himself. It's a nice balance of flawed without being mopey which tends to work pretty well.



#36. Proty II

Shapeless blob. Member of the Legion of Super-Pets. Radical politican and protean rights activist. What's not to like?








#35. Shade (Rac Shade)

I had actually forgotten that Milligan's Shade was publishing under DC for quite a while, so counts under the guidelines provided here. You could probably make an argument for Kathy being the stronger character in the series, but Shade is pretty interesting himself. I don't really want to see him written in anything not-written by Milligan, so he may not be a useful addition to the DC Universe on the whole, but those first 50 issues (or, rather, the 40 issues after number 10 or so) are so good, he makes the list.


#34. Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter)

I think, in the hands of a more aggressive writer, the initial Booster Gold series could have really fascinating. He's essentially a cheat - his powers are stolen, he already knows what's going to happen - and his motives are pretty shameless. Still, he's really excited to be a hero, and the aspect of fanboy wish fulfillment that has resurfaced in 52 has really reminded me of what I liked about the original series.




#33. The Question (Vic Sage)

It's kind of hard putting the Question on here, since, aside from the handful of Ditko issues, I don't recall liking any Question comics. I suppose it says something about the strength of the character that he still makes the list.






#32. Mr. Tawky Tawny

Arguably the most absurd member of the Fawcett line (even more than Mr. Banjo!), Tawky Tawny represents everything I like about Fawcett characters. He's a talking tiger who wears a suit. If there's not room for him in DC, they're doing something very wrong.






#31. The Demon (Etrigan/Jason Blood)

There's a pretty wide range of characterizations of Etrigan, and not all writers can pull off the rhyming, but, done well, he's a pretty great addition to almost any story. I'm a little disappointed he's not being used in Shadowpact, but maybe he'll show up there periodically.