I'm another title
Bucky Barnes garners the number one spot on this list because of multi-layered the character is. At the hands of writer Ed Brubaker, Steve Rogers’ presumed dead sidekick, Bucky was revealed to be alive and operating as a brainwashed assassin called the Winter Solider. Some time after this revelation and his success in reaching Bucky, restoring his memories in the process, Steve Rogers is shot and killed, and Bucky becomes the new Captain America.
For the next few years, the new Captain America was involved in some of the best superhero stories ever told. Ed Brubaker brought an espionage feel to the character and crafted cerebral thrillers focusing not only on black op missions, but also on Bucky’s personality, which is far darker.
Bucky was a haunted individual. His memories of his time as the Winter Solider were always in the back of his mind on and off missions. They never let him be. Early on in his tenure as the Captain, he was plagued with self-doubt. He did not see himself as a hero. He felt he was unworthy to carry on the legacy of his friend, so much so that he initially refused to call himself by the title of ‘Captain America’.
It’s these instances of character development and study, so prevalent during his time as Captain America, that made Bucky such a fan favorite. When the character was first re-introduced, there was major backlash from fans that had long held the value of the rule that Bucky stays dead. When Steve Rogers returned to the role a few years ago, fans were outraged once again. However, now they were outraged that Bucky would no longer be the Captain, a true testament to the excellence of the stories that were told with him as a star.
When it was launched in 2000, Ultimate Spider-Man was a revolutionary title that not only launched Marvel’s Ultimate universe, but it helped change the way superhero stories are told in comics. It was the flagship book of the Ultimate universe, which was never afraid to push the envelope and do things the classic Marvel Universe comics cannot do. This trend continued in 2011 when writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley killed off the Ultimate version of Peter Parker and replaced him with Miles Morales.
The origin of the new Ultimate Spider-Man is similar to the original’s but still different. There’s an uncle, a tragedy, and other aspects of the classic origin story, but they are played out differently for this new character and readers. What’s most important, is that with every new issue, Bendis is molding Miles Morales into a fascinating character that readers care and want to read about.
Oh, the controversy when this happened. In 2009, After Bruce Wayne is presumed dead, though he was actually just displaced in time, several characters fought to become the new Dark Knight. After a fierce battle with Jason Todd, the resurrected and now insane second Robin, Dick Grayson, the original Robin, donned the cowl. What came after was a new take on the Batman character.
Dick Grayson was more light-hearted than his predecessor and adoptive father, and this shown through during his tenure as Batman. With a new Robin by his side, Bruce Wayne’s son Damien, the formula of the Dynamic Duo was switched up. Now Robin was the brooding one. The end result was a number of exciting and fresh stories that portrayed Grayson as his own Batman, instead of simply a carbon copy of the original.
Since the New 52 reboot at DC, Bruce Wayne is back to being Batman and Dick Grayson is back in his identity of Nightwing. and back to starring in his own title. However, he left an undeniable mark on the Dark Knight’s history.
Kyle Rayner was chosen to become the new Green Lantern by Ganthet, a member of the Guardians of the Universe (founders of the Green Lantern Corps), after Hal Jordan lost his mind. Before becoming a Lantern, Rayner was a talented artist, and he used his talent and imagination to wield the Green Lantern ring like no one had before. Opponents never knew what they were going to be facing once Kyle Rayner began imagining up constructs with his ring.
Rayner has continued to act as Green Lantern, though he is one of many, but he is still an important character. He currently stars in Green Lantern: New Guardians, where his potential to wield the powers of the entire emotional spectrum and their corresponding power rings is being explored.
4. Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern
5. Tim Drake/Robin
3. Miles Morales/Ultimate Spider-Man
2. Dick Grayson/Batman
1. Bucky Barnes/Captain America
After the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, a devastated Batman was resigned to working alone forever. That is, until Tim Drake came along. Drake immediately proved his worth by deducting the identities of Batman and the original Robin to be Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, respectively. He offers his skills to Batman, who is desperately in need of someone to keep him from losing control due to Todd’s death, and is accepted as the new Robin.
Tim Drake quickly became a fan favorite character. For twenty years, in our years, not comic book years (which seem to be more like dog years), he fought along side Batman and starred in his own ongoing solo series, before striking out on his own and adopting “Red Robin” as his new identity. He has a special place on this list because he was “my” Robin, as in he was the Robin when I first began reading Batman comics. He is currently the star of DC’s Teen Titans.
The Replacements by Jesse Berberich
Everyone knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and Peter Parker is Spider-Man, but there have been other people to take up those mantles. In fact, it is a popular plot device in comics for a new face to be behind a popular hero’s mask. The following is a list of five new faces that became fan-favorites. Each character on this list represents the positive outcome that can come from the old being replaced with the new.
