The question people give me when I tell them about Marvel's Daredevil is always "oh, will he be in the Avengers". It seems like every superhero Marvel hashes out gets the same response, I understand the variety of characters may make it difficult to pass judgement on who belongs where, but if we're to truly grasp where Marvel's heroes are placed there is only one place to turn: the comics. Duh!
Now I've always considers most heroes to fall into an archetype, categories based on powers and atmosphere. I plan on going more in-depth with this idea, but the basics are that while characters like Superman fall into the "Alien" category because he is an actual alien, someone like Captain America can be put in the "Science" category because of the origins of his powers. Why does this matter to the main topic? Well, a character's category helps determine what place they are best suited for. For example, a character like Hawkeye is more fit for street-level or espionage adventures. At the end of the day he is simply an expert archer, which pales in comparison to The Mighty Thor or The Incredible Hulk. But could Hawkeye be useful to The Avengers? Of course, why else would be recruited? For his charm? Maybe. He's capable of fighting superhumans and aliens alike, but having him battle crime organizations and enemy spies gives him a target more fitting for his skill-set. Someone like Silver Surfer is best suited for space stories, while human characters like Daredevil need to remain on the streets. Fighting assassins is one thing, but Daredevil isn't the type of hero to take on demons. Well, not in a literal sense. Characters like Spider-Man can often bridge the gap between world-protectors like The Avengers, street-level guys like The Heroes for Hire, and even universal adventurers like The Fantastic Four. This is because Spider-Man's powers aren't vast enough to overshadow the street guys, but not weak enough to not match the big names.
There's also a time zone to consider, especially in Marvel's New York. There are so many damn superheroes in New York! You got Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The Heroes for Hire, The Avengers, The Punisher, Daredevil, Moonknight, Blade, She-Hulk, the list goes on. With so many heroes there is plenty of land to cover, and more brutal guys like The Punisher and Daredevil usually patrol at night to get the worst of New York's criminals. Over time heroes have expanded beyond New York, sometimes for change, other times just so writers can write a story without including too many heroes. Currently we have Iron Man in San Francisco, Ghost Rider in Los Angeles, and Ms. Marvel in New Jersey. And if we want to get intercontinental we have Alpha Flight in Canada, The Big Hero 6 in Japan, Black Panther in Africa, Captain Britain in England, and even Hauptmann Deutschland in Germany. Yeah, Marvel gets around. If that's not enough you have The Avengers protecting Earth, The Guardians of The Galaxy guarding our galaxy, and Dr. Strange keeping exiled demons from devouring Earth. Also, Howard the Duck is running around somewhere.
Showing how vast the superhero craze spans is one of the best things about modern comic books. The fact that any place at any time can have a masked defender representing it and protecting it from the universal threat of crime is fantastical. Just because guys like Daredevil aren't immediately inducted into The Avengers doesn't mean their presence goes unnoticed. And just to calm your concerns, about a quarter of Marvel's superheroes have been Avengers at one point or another. Seriously, even Squirrel Girl. Yeah, I know right! Squirrel Girl!? Can my grandmother be an Avenger? The roster doesn't seem to have any limitations! Thanks for reading!
Facebook: The Panel Biter
Twitter: @ThePanelBiter
No comments:
Post a Comment