Most deserving West Coast recruits

[The Night Phantom]

A lot of characters served on the West Coast team. But it’s recently occurred to me that, although the West Coast branch included several “traditional” Avengers on its roster over the years, none of that branch’s new recruits have ever served on the East Coast/“main” team. Sometimes Whacko recruits have been shown serving as Avengers since the demise of the West Coast team—sometimes in “army” groupings as in the Kang War or undertaking special missions—but none have ever appeared in a normal, manageably sized line-up.

Jim Rhodes is slated to figure in Avengers: The Initiative, though it’s not clear whether he will fit the bill as a standard active Avenger in the sense I mean (he might be just a “consulting Avenger”)—I suppose we’ll have to see how that series develops.

Which West Coast recruit would you most like to see developed as a perennial core member, the way people like Hawkeye, the Vision, and the Wasp have been? (From the choices I’ve purposely omitted Moira Brandon, the non-super honorary member who was introduced in flashback after her death. I hope I haven’t stepped on any toes there.)

[Tana Nile]

I voted for Firebird. I liked what Busiek did with her in volume 3, especially her relationship with Thor. I thnk she could be an interesting character.

[redstatecap]

"None of the above" gets my vote.

RSC

[Nutcase65]

I always liked Moon Knight. He just seemed sorta cool. I didn't get into his new series but I liked him back when he was with the West Coast.

[dlw66]

I always thought they could have gotten more mileage out of Jim Hammond than they did. I'd like that Cap/Subby/Torch dynamic from time to time.

[Shiryu]

I voted the Torch, mainly because he lost his powers so soon after coming back that he may still be used for a lot of interesting / unexplored plots.
I also enjoyed Firebird in V3, but I don't care for any of the others (except the Thing, but he is too tied to the F4 to become a core Avenger).

[imperiusrex]

I picked Mocky. She did everything a good avenger should do-- she created good conflict, she had strong ties to the team, she gave the team an emotional center, and she had longstanding ties to the rest of the MU that could be explored (gold star if you remember from her days in Ka-Zar, and her SHIELD experience).
Not every character needs all these things, but they do add to the character and this is definitely one case as these little facets made Bobbi more interesting...

[Doctor Bong]

Plus she had a healthy sense of humor & took no s--t from Hawkeye...

[spiderwasp]

I voted for Arachne (Spiderwoman). I always liked her and am glad to see her returning through Ms. Marvel and the upcoming Omega Flight.
I also thought that Living Lightning had a lot of potential that never got explored, although I noticed he wasn't listed. Oh well. Oversight, I'm sure.

[The Night Phantom]

spiderwasp said:

I also thought that Living Lightning had a lot of potential that never got explored, although I noticed he wasn't listed. Oh well. Oversight, I'm sure.

Yes and no. Originally I included him when creating the poll. Then my browser froze up before I could finalize the post, and I had to start over again! The second time I somehow forgot to re-include him. My apologies, everyone.

[daned]

surprisingly USAgent. Introduced as a combat-friendly Henry Gyrich, he started developing cool layers. Throwing away his shield in AWC 102 was great. And then ruined by Force Works.

And where the hell's my second star dammit?!

[daned]

Well. Ask and ye shall receive.

[Doctor Bong]

Keep complaining & we'll send Doom to crash you through a wall...
Don't worry... He just wants to talk...!

[The Night Phantom]

It’s about time I chimed in, this being my own poll and all.

I count Moon Knight straight out. I think his style makes a poor fit with the Avengers. I’m fine with the fact that he had his stint—which was characterized as an atypical period for Moonie, with the waxing influence of Khonshu. But I think he’s best left as a character left in the shadows, often fighting alone, not as a core Avenger.

I like Darkhawk, but his inclusion as a West Coast reserve member (while living on the East Coast!) was mostly a gimmick, suitably kept low-key. In his own series, his charm was that he was portrayed as a latter-day teenage Peter Parker, whom I don’t think of as suited for core Avengers membership either. His current membership the Loners (a.k.a. Excelsior—a support-group for young people trying not to return to superheroing) doesn’t bode well for future Avengers activity, though obviously that could change. It’s possible the character could evolve into core-Avenger material, but at present I’m not expecting that sort of development.

The Thing had a membership that really wasn’t. Like most Marvel fans, I expect him to pretty much stick with the FF. I don’t rule out a 2–3 year stint with the Avengers somewhere down the road during another Fantastic reshuffling—heck, having Ben truly participating in the team for a little while could be awesome—but I prefer to keep him as a core FF’er, not a core Avenger.

I like Machine Man; however, his membership, like Darkhawk’s, was pretty much a throwaway. Possibly he could become an acceptable perennial Avenger—especially if the Vision remains absent or else if the differences between the android Avengers are kept in stark relief. Still, even in the latter case, having two androids spending a lot of time on the same team could get corny.

A reactivated Human Torch could pose the same problem (especially given his convoluted shared origin with the Vision), though, as his name implies, he does seem the most human of the android Avengers. I wouldn’t mind seeing him spend more time with the team, however. As for being a core member—well, I prefer to reserve judgement until I’ve seen him better integrated with the team.

USAgent is a pain in the butt. But he has his uses. If he could continue to develop as a classic Hawkeye type—the dissenting malcontent with veritable esprit de corps under his brusque exterior—and lose the paternalistic Uncle-Sam’s-stooge mindset (along with the name, I guess)—then maybe he could be an Avenger worth keeping around. But then, I’d rather have Clint Barton.

I don’t have a lot of strong feeling about Jim Rhodes. If he were to become an active Avenger again—or, really, an active superhero anywhere—I’d prefer to see him get out of Iron Man’s shadow by ceasing to wear just another variation on an Iron Man suit. A step in this direction was recently taken when he became a Sentinel “pilot” in Sentinel Squad O*N*E. As a Sentinel is a little big for everyday Avenging, maybe he could find another superhero niche. Maybe, without being another armored hero, he could start carrying some exotic weaponry. Maybe he could get bona fide powers. I don’t know. Even with the revamp, I’d reserve judgement on his suitability for being a core Avengers member—but a revamp would be a good start.

Like Spiderwasp, I feel the Living Lightning had unrealized potential. I could see him developing into a perennial Avenger. But right now the character strikes me as a little bland, and so I don’t consider the possibility compelling. But if some writer—some writers were to nurture him, he could make an excellent major Avenger someday.

Mockingbird should not have been killed off. But she was. I think she was a great Avenger. I would have liked to see her develop as a long-term member. But she’s been dead for quite some time now, and Clint has moved on. Some resurrections are OK, but I’d prefer to let her death stand as “real”.

I agree with Tana that Firebird has some good potential. I also liked what Busiek did with her, and I liked Dwayne McDuffie’s attempt to re-link her romantically with Hank Pym in the Beyond! limited series. She could develop into a major Avenger.

I’m voting for Spider-Woman (now Arachne). I’ve always liked her, since her debut in Secret Wars. She has some standard superpowers, plus that odd psi-web ability that I think is nifty. I love her costume, more than Spider-Man’s equivalent. And I like her work ethic—the single mother who has labored long and hard to become a top superhero—a little like Ms. Marvel’s current conceit, really.


Modified to complete my post (somehow I had prematurely posted while I was still in the midst of editing).