Which character would you pull? Options

[ChuckMoore]

Question: Let's say you're a time traveler who can seamlessly alter continuity. If you could pull any single character out of the history of comics and have their story never become part of the established continuity of any given Marvel or DC title, which character would you remove? What impact do you think pulling them would have on continuity?

I'll start... For me it would be Cable.



Can you imagine an X-universe without having to explain to new fans how Cyclops is related to Cable? X-fans who have it all mapped out still get a headache thinking about it all. Pulling that one character would unwind so much of the twisted history of the X-Men and allow the chronology to be so much smoother. Also, without Cable, maybe Liefeld wouldn't have such a free hand playing in the X-sandbox back in the early 90's.

I might have a different answer on another day, but for me today it would be Cable.

[Marv-El]

Watch the fur fly: Wolverine.

He would have much less impact on continuity than Cable, because much less effort has been expended trying to explain him. He is just so darn popular people don't care about reason. OTOH, I despise what the character has become and would rather see a Marvel Universe without him.

[Ron Fortier]

Okay, let's really shake things up here. You both pulled heroes. I'd love to pull the Joker. Think about for a second. The minute he arrives on the scene, everything about Batman as a believable human detective/crime fighter was altered. With the Joker, we let loose a fantasy
element that was all about kooky, colorful baddies, much like Dick Tracy. And I don't wonder if that was what Bill Finger was trying to
emulate with his creation. Ergo, you have super-baddies, Batman himself became a "super" hero, and would never be the same again.
I hate rogues galleries.

[Glen Davis]

I would have to say the Punisher.

Much as I like the character that he's based on, Mack Bolan, and many of his adventures, I think the character brought about some really bad changes in comics as a whole.

Without the Punisher, all the darkness that pervaded comics may never have come to pass as much as they did.

[Marv-El]

I would have to say the Punisher.

Much as I like the character that he's based on, Mack Bolan, and many of his adventures, I think the character brought about some really bad changes in comics as a whole.

Without the Punisher, all the darkness that pervaded comics may never have come to pass as much as they did.

Glen, Punisher was my second choice, but I would rather lose Logan.

[Kenn Minter]

Does it have to be a character? How about a writer? I'd pick Brian Bendis.

[TheGeekfather]

I have to agree with Chuck on this and go with Cable... if only because with no Cable there would be no Strife... it was hard enough keeping up with one of him... and then Strife, and then Nate Grey... arrrgah! It would also erase the X-Cutioner's Song Storyline... BONUS POINTS!

My second choice would be the Phoenix Force... I loved the original story and even some of what came later, but a. it's been retconned to death; b. it's been used as a deus-ex-machina too often, and c. if I see it featured in one more limited series I'm going to explode.

[Kenn Minter]

VENOM! I've always hated that stupid character. Hello, Marvel? Are you listening?

[ChuckMoore]

VENOM! I've always hated that stupid character. Hello, Marvel? Are you listening?

Not quite Venom, but one of my favorite moments in comics was when Sentry tore Carnage in two in New Avengers #2...

[ChuckMoore]

Punisher & Joker... Wow! Good choices. Those are two characters that, removed from continuity, would have HUGE ripples. Wolverine would also be a really interesting pull.

[MikeWilliams]

Watch the fur fly: Wolverine.

He would have much less impact on continuity than Cable, because much less effort has been expended trying to explain him. He is just so darn popular people don't care about reason. OTOH, I despise what the character has become and would rather see a Marvel Universe without him.

LOL! Man, that's brutal.

[Ron Fortier]

Great pick, Glen. Marvel had no business take a Mack Bolan clone and trying to stuff him into a comic-book universe. It was stupid from
the get-go and is still a square peg in a round hole.

[Conscientious Se...]

Lex Luthor. While I like what he represents, the reality is, he's become a crutch for the Superman writers far too often and as the only certifiably great villain who has ever stayed Superman-exclusive, he provides a kind of "cover" when fans point out that Earth's greatest hero seems to have the universe's shabbiest rogues gallery. The idea that he's omnipresent in the DC Universe, and that he's returned to being a power-suit-wearing, moustache-twirling, bona fide super-villain is not only ridiculous, but makes me want him removed.

As an added bonus, his failing to exist would have made them actually WORK at finding or making villains for the Superman movies, and/or the Superman: Doomsday feature. Instead of falling back on "angry, bald man with Kryptonite" every. SINGLE. time, they could have come up with something interesting and creative and maybe the Superman film franchise wouldn't be such a joke.

[G-Man]

Cable is a good pick.....but I say cut it off at the root and pull the character Madelyne Pryor. And any character looking like or claiming to be Jean Grey after she died at the end of the Phoniex Saga. (except Rachel Summers...she's okay. We can keep her)

[ChuckMoore]

Cable is a good pick.....but I say cut it off at the root and pull the character Madelyne Pryor. And any character looking like or claiming to be Jean Grey after she died at the end of the Phoniex Saga. (except Rachel Summers...she's okay. We can keep her)

I couldn't agree more with that one. Phoenix Saga was a near perfect story. Why couldn't they have just left it as written? I live in fear of the day when someone decides to write Watchmen II: Rorschach Returns...

[Marv-El]

I live in fear of the day when someone decides to write Watchmen II: Rorschach Returns...

Oh, I hope I hope I HOPE it's Chuck Austen. And Ed McG can draw it with wraparound covers by Michael Turner.

And it would sell. BANGplop.

[G-Man]

I'm still not feeling any love for Madelyne Pryor....(although her story up to X-Men #175 wasn't that bad .....I guess)..I recalled while driving home from work today that I was orginally going to suggest pulling the character Mila Donovan (Murdock).

I realize Brubaker got stuck with a LOT of Bendis debris to clean up when he took over shop on Dardevil. I for one really wouldn't have minded if Bullseye did kill her off. Three for three. Package deal.

The whole getting married during a mental breakdown thing was cool...(Yellowjacket flashback)....but after dating the Black Widow, Echo, and Elektra.......can't figure out what Matt sees in Mila. No pun intended.

Even Heather Glenn was more interesting.

[Richv1]

How about the X-Men villian Eye Scream who can turn into any flavour Ice Cream. And removing him would not really change anything since he was such a second rate villian.

[AlexApprobation]

Wow, that is a lot of great characters you guys want to get rid of.

I can't think of any characters that are so bad they should be removed from history completely.

There are a lot of storylines I'd like to get rid of, like Chuck Austin's Nightcrawler reveals... Vulcan being the 3rd Summers brother...

oops... well, there we go. I'd get rid of Vulcan. Ugh.

[ChuckMoore]

Does it have to be a character? How about a writer? I'd pick Brian Bendis.

If we're talking writers, there are quite a few Chris Claremont stories from the last 3-4 years I would pull. He did a lot to generate (say via his Excalibur series in the post-sentinel Genosia as just one example) a mix of needless, two-dimensional mutants which helped page the way for Bendis' big power-down. He was so strong back in the glory years of the X-Men. Maybe I'm extra critical due to my regard for that era, but his work has been very frustrating for me.