Oh the Angst

I have now finished reading Ed Brubaker's epic Captain America/Bucky Barnes saga, ending with "Winter Soldier: The Complete Collection." It was all masterful -- he's one of my all-time favorite comics writers -- but now I'm depressed. If you haven't read these, he didn't exactly leave Bucky in a good place emotionally, damn it. I'm not exactly eager to read more Bucky comics because from what I've seen of them, skimming them in various comic book shops, they pale in comparison to Brubaker's brilliance.

Roy Harper is my all-time favorite DC character (along with the original Supergirl) and now Bucky is my all-time favorite Marvel character. Oddly enough, both Bucky and the version of Roy before the nu52 DC lost an arm. I think Bucky lucked out with the better prosthetic limb, but for angst factor, they might be tied. Bucky was a programmed assassin and ended up losing the love of his life Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, who had her memories of him wiped due to a nefarious plot, but Roy had been a heroin addict who cleaned up his act, then suffered the loss of his young daughter, Lian, during... yup, a nefarious plot.

Meanwhile, I saw Ant-Man which totally rocked. It was loads of fun, but oh, that post-credits scene. Not the mid-credits scene, though that was fun, but the one at the very, very end. *sigh* And I hope the Milgrom Hotel where Scott was staying was named in honor of Al Milgrom, comics artist, editor, etc. If not, I'm going to pretend it was.

Finally, "Get on the damn ant, Scott." (I think I remembered that correctly.)

Top Ten Favorite Characters

I saw this done over on BrainFreeze, so figured, why not do that here, too. So, I present my favorite comic book characters. Since I'm mostly a DC reader, that's what I'll stick with. I tried doing a list of my favorite characters from other companies, but couldn't come close to 10.

Favorite Female DC Characters

1. Supergirl (the original Kara from the Silver Age)
2. Black Canary (any version, I just love Dinah)
3. Catwoman
4. Barbara Gordon (as Oracle or Batgirl)
5. Huntress (the original, Helena Wayne, though the current version has grown on me)
6. Power Girl
7. Manhunter (Kate Spencer)
8. Lois Lane (Because when I was growing up, she was the one character I could grow up to be. But I never did become a reporter.)
9. Zinda (As she's been in BoP, she's been an adventure unto herself.)
10. Hawkgirl (the original, Shayera/Shiera)
    

Honorable Mention: Zatanna, Wonder Woman

Favorite Male DC Characters

1. Roy Harper (Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow, whatever the future might bring)
2. Dick Grayson (Robin, Nightwing)
3. Green Arrow (What can I say? I'm a sucker for the jerk.)
4. Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes version preferred, but Ted Kord is fine, too.)
5. Element Lad (When I was a kid, I had the biggest crush on him, Roy Harper, and Dick Grayson, so even though I no longer read the LSH and the few times I've seen him in recent years, he was barely recognizable, the version from the Silver Age remains a favorite.)
6. Elongated Man (*sigh* I still miss Ralph.)
7. Animal Man (A solid, dependable -- mostly -- family man!)
   
8. Ragman (He's Jewish!)
9. Booster Gold (It took his current book to make me fall in love with the character.)
10. Wildcat (Yeah, I know I complain sometimes that he's hogging JSA Classified, but really, I have to love a guy both Black Canary and Catwoman consider a friend.)
    

Honorable Mention: Mr. Terrific (current version), Hawkman (ah, that chest hair)
Honorable, Honorable Mention: Two from other lines in the DC Comics company: Grifter, Jack of Fables

This has been an interesting exercise. While I love scores of characters, trying to pick favorites (which is never easy for me) required real thinking. The first 2 or 3 of each category was easy, but after that, I really had to consider what characters I'd read under damn near any circumstance (except the painfully bad, because I'd hate to see favorites in such poor stories). I reserve the right for the lists to remain flexible. After all, who knows what new, great characters will be coming along. It might be worth doing this a year or two from now.