Question: good examples of second tier heroes?
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BrandX,
Posted on: 2010-11-24 18:26 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
The Question is the first that springs to mind.
Hmmm...I can think of a few that have had their own titles, but I would think were more the 2nd tier heroes...
Power Man
Iron Fist
Moon Knight
They just haven't seen to rise to the level of tier 1, imo anyways.
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The Martian Manhunter, most of the core X-Men, Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Black Canary, some of the Avengers, hell, even the Fantastic Four can be considered second tier.
I always thought of the tier 1 heroes as Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and those guys. The ones that even non comics fan know all about. The tier 2 ones, to me, were guys like Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and others of that level. They are teammates and friends with the tier 1 guys, but they just don't have that instant recognition factor. Booster Gold and the like are 3rd tier or below for me.
@Joshua.
I wouldn't consider Green Lantern or Martian Manhunter tier 2s. They're too powerful.
To me, heroes/villains that are more one-dimensional in their powers are second tier, or guys that are usually in a supportive role. Having their own titles isn't enough, because bad writing can sink a character more than their power level/backstory. Plus they're only going to focus on so many characters at one time, and outside of the DC Trinity, or Spider-Man/Capt America/Iron Man, they're gonna rotate through the others.
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Well the real question is, What would you consider what tier so we have to work out criteria...
We also have to divide by Brand because, let's be honest, even the top Marvel characters aren't the same level as top DC characters nor are Image characters at the same level of Marvel, let alone DC.
I would say something like this...
Tier 1:
> a) Name Recognition
> b) Does or has successfully carried their own title well (Teams that are can't be split up fit in here, but teams that are put together just because don't for example Fantastic 4 can't be split up, but X-Men and JLA can be so F4 could be consider t1 as a group.)
> c) The basic origin is well known
> d) The basic personality is well known
> e) General powers known
Tier 2:
> a) Name Recognition
> b) Does or has carried their own title well (Teams that are can't be split up fit in here, but teams that are put together just because don't for example Fantastic 4 can't be split up, but X-Men and JLA can be so F4 could be consider t2 as a group.)
> c) The basic origin is known by people who read comics
> d) The basic personality is known by people who read comics
> e) General powers known by people who read comics
Tier 3:
> a) Name Recognition
> b) General powers known
Tier 4:
> a) General powers or Names is recognized but nothing else and usually not both powers and names are known.
t1:
Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Robin I (Dick Grayson)
Wolverine
Fantastic Four
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
t2:
Robin III (Tim Drake)
Aquaman
Green Arrow
The basic difference between t1 and t2 is that the general populous aren't as informed about them for some reason, but they are in terms of quality and level equal properties in comic fandom.
t3:
Kilowog
Firestorm
t4:
Saturn Girl
Most of the Legionaires...they are just cheap with their name.
I think there should be a t5 probably and I'm probably missing something...
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while he is my favorite superhero, Nightcrawler would probably be a second tier one. not as well known but has a small devoted following. powerful but not among the heavy hitters. can carry some very interesting stories, but usually not the center of attention.
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Originally Posted by ObiWan
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Now that's more like it.
Batman.
Really.
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I was leaving it a bit vague deliberately, actually.
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Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
while he is my favorite superhero, Nightcrawler would probably be a second tier one. not as well known but has a small devoted following. powerful but not among the heavy hitters. can carry some very interesting stories, but usually not the center of attention.
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I based it on if they had their ongoing solo comic book, if they don't then they are tier 2.
I dunno. Daredevil strikes me as a perfect example of a Tier 2 superhero, even though he carries his own comic. He's not tremendously powerful, not very iconic, and if it weren't for that dreadful movie nobody outside of the Marvel-reading community would know him.
Wonder Woman is another counterexample. DC keeps trying to make her into an iconic figure but it just doesn't fit her very well. She has her own series that keeps dying due to lack of sales. She's only Tier 1 because DC hypes her so much...left on her own, Wonder Woman would easily fall to Tier 2.
Another Tier 1 with awful sales is Aquaman. He's iconic, powerful, and well known, but can't carry a book.
I think you need to decide whether you want to rank superheroes by fame, power level, or marketability. There are examples of heroes that excell in one or another category but fail in the others.
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I'd consider Hawkeye a good second tier hero. He's been a part of the Avengers but (to my recollection) can't really carry a book on his own. Not as recognizable, iconic or powerful as Marvel's heavy-hitters, but still an established hero in the Marvel Universe.
On the DC side, I think Firestorm qualifies. I've never followed the character, but he's been around a while and interacts with DC's more popular heroes/teams. I remember seeing his book on the shelves years ago, but I'm not sure if he's still carrying his own title.
Booster Gold is the 1st hero that comes to mind for me. He's popular, but not so much that he's automatically recognizable to many.
*sighs wistfully* Ah, Nightcrawler. My first and most enduring comic book crush. Chicks dig da fuzzy elf!
As for Tier 2's, hmmmm.
Quicksilver, Vision, Ant Man all spring to mind. These are characters that have all been in the comic books a long time. Decades, in fact, but the majority of non comic book readers aren't going to recognise their names the way they would Spider Man or Iron Man.
I agree with whoever feted Daredevil as a Tier 2 as well. Also Winter Solider or Nick Fury for the men.
For the ladies? Scarlet Witch, Tigra, any X-woman that isn't Jean Grey or Emma Frost. She-Hulk.
For DC.
Blue Beetle or Booster Gold for sure. I love those guys but they don't have that instant recognition the was Superman or Batman does.
Green Arrow and Green Lantern are too high profile right now with Smallville and the upcoming movie to be Teir 2's. Please note I said "right now" no doubt that'll change in the future when Hollywood gets sick of mutilating their origins.
Jon Stewart, Martian Manhunter, Deathstroke. I think they'd be fun to base a character off.
Female DC..... any female other than Wonder Woman, really. RemusShepherd had a point about Diana that I completely agreed with. I'm a Wonder Woman fan and I still have to agree.
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You know, I think Zatanna could be Tier 1 someday soon. She has the power and her book is selling well enough, I think. If she had better name recognition she'd be a top star. I wonder if they're planning on making a movie for her.
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Originally Posted by Lady LoveDie
Female DC..... any female other than Wonder Woman, really.
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The thing with what you guys are all saying is that clearly there are some characters like Robin I and Robin III who are in my opinion not "top tier", but clearly they are above other characters. These guys in my opinion is tier 2. But I think what you guys are talking about are what I'd call tier 3...or Robin and that tier is tier 1.5 ^.^
Just something I was wondering about. I've not been in comics for years, so I really am not sure about this. Anyhow, every knows the AAA-heroes... Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. But I was wondering who the second-tier ones were, what they're like, etc? You know - they're pretty good/awesome but maybe don't have the personality/appeal to be major stars/titles and thus don't get brought out that often, or can't carry a full title by themselves so are usually a part of teams and such.
I'd go check my friendly local comic shop except it closed down a few years ago
Main reason I'm asking is I've got a new alt and trying to figure out how to style him. I figure he's always going to behind my mains, so what the heck, right?