Ensemble Darkhorse/Comic Books

Everyone loves me, bub.

• Wolverine of the X-Men has turned into this in just about all of his incarnations. In fact, he's so popular, he's often used as a marketing ploy for other series in which he doesn't appear at all.
  • Ironically, one of the early plans was for Colossus to be the Breakout Character and Wolverine nearly killed off in his third issue with the team.
  • While on the subject of the X-Men, several of the background characters at the Xavier Institute developed fanbases despite having no or few lines, thanks to neat visuals or powers. Notable amongst these are Pixie, a girl with fairy wings and the ability to disperse a hallucinogenic powder; and Anole, a lizard-like mutant with superhuman camouflage powers and a long tongue.
    • Pixie is getting a miniseries. Seriously.
  • Under the hand of Peter David, Shatterstar has been the subject of extensive online debate, beaten up The Thing, kissed almost as many people as the rest of the cast put together, been featured prominently in at least three different covers, made himself a very likely candidate for a limited series, and just generally stolen the spotlight both in-universe and out; all this in, what, ten issues or so? Not bad for a character who the writer refused to allow anywhere near the book for quite some time.
  • Blink from Marvel's X-Men also gained quite a fan following after a fairly brief existence in their mainstream storylines, due to her unique look and interesting variation on semi-common teleportation powers. She got an upgraded role in the Age of Apocalypse storyline, which in turn upgraded her popularity. She was so popular that she survived the destruction of that universe and became a main character in the Exiles spinoff.
  • More recent fans would no doubt find it hard to believe that Wolverine was ever a background character, who the writers actually considered killing off in only his third appearance (and second as an X-Man). Instead they killed his teammate Thunderbird, who had a very similar personality, largely because his powers were more generic than Wolverine's (neither a Healing Factor nor claws were particularly common powers in comic books at the time; it's largely Wolverine's later hyper-popularity that changed that).
• Storm could certainly qualify. While she wasn't a side character when she started out, they probably didn't expect her to become a hit, much less become who is probably the most recognizable black superhero.
  • Nightcrawler. How can we leave Nightcrawler off of this list?
• Catwoman started out as a sparsely appearing character in the Batman series, became a regular villain, then became an anti-hero with several series of comics bearing her name as the title.
  • Similarly, Harley Quinn got her own series.
  • Poison Ivy became much more popular when paired with Harley, and a one-off series, "Harley & Ivy", was made of them later.
  • Then they all became best friends
• Also, even older than all of the above: The Joker was originally supposed to be a one-shot villain, who apparently died at the end of his first appearance. It wouldn't be the last time he cheated death, though, since he makes just too perfect a Foil for Batman.
• Golden Age example: The Red Tornado was originally introduced as "Ma" Hunkel, a supporting character in "Scribbly the Boy Cartoonist," but was so outrageously silly that she completely overshadowed the title character. 60 years later, Ma is the curator of the Justice Society of America museum, and nobody remembers poor ol' Scribbly.
  • Wildcat. A lot of modern fans don't realize that in the 40s, Wildcat was just barely a member of the JSA, participating in less than a dozen stories. He became more popular during the 70s JSA revival and All-Star Squadron, and then really took off in the modern series. It helps that he's one of the few remaining living team members.
  • This is similarly true of many JSA members of that era. Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite and others were completely failed concepts that would likely have vanished forever if not for their JSA links- which allowed future writers to bring them back in future storylines. Both had further runs, and currently popular successors.
• Damian Wayne, Batman's son, was initially intended to die after his first storyline, and was widely disliked by fans for his bad attitude and violent behavior. He was then made into the new Robin, and became the co-headliner of the immensely popular Batman and Robin series. He has since developed a sizable fanbase, and Batman and Robin continues to be a strong seller. He was even briefly added to the Teen Titans as part of a stunt to raise the title's sagging sales.
• Another, earlier example is Stephanie Brown, 4th Robin and Batgirl respectfully, who was orginally murdered (rather brutally) during War Games, but who's popularity with the readers cause not only for her death to be reconned - but also for her to be made the newest Batgirl with her own (Batman Beyond-eqse) series with Barbara Gordon.
• Technically, Batman Beyond star Terry Mcginnis aka Batman II is this in Comic verse. Like the darling Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya he was taken from DCAU due to the massive popularity with the charater and moved into Main Comic verse as a possiable alternate Batman (presumable after Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne's Batmen retire) - though where or not he's still Bruce' son, and so Damian's younger brother, in that future is uncertain but unlikely due to Bruce's prior murder. But then, Bruce didn't necessarily need to be around for Terry's conception in his orginal Verse either due to Cadmus' Project Batman Beyond. His popularity cause several comic series, including the current ongoing series, as well as a "spin of" of a "spin of" Zeta Project. Well, he's a cool kid and very cool Batman XD
• This has happened to a few members of the Green Lantern Corps. In the 80s, it was Kilowog, who's still a fun character and a foil to the four Earth Lanterns. Recently, it's Mogo the living planet, who was introduced in the 80s and then rarely used until Green Lantern: Rebirth. He's had a lot to do since then, including being a key being in Infinite Crisis and the Sinestro Corps War storylines.
  • And of the four Earth Lanterns, Guy Gardner is himself the darkhorse; originally a one-shot character who was brought back just so that he could be injured and John Stewart could take his place, writers just kept using him. He eventually became a sort of tragic-comic Anti-Hero, and his popularity and thus notability increased dramatically. He even got his own solo series for a while in the 90s and another in 2010.
  • In an odd example, the Green Lantern Sinestro Corps War storyline was originally meant as a minor storyline, the big stories of the DCU were supposed to be Countdown to Final Crisis and Amazons Attack. However, Sinestro Corps War was a massive hit, and both Countdown and Amazons Attack were massive failures. In fact, Sinestro Corps War was such a great success, that its sequel, Blackest Night, became THE next major Crisis Crossover, and DC's way of repairing the damage Countdown has done to their reputation. Fan outlook on the books is positive.
  • Orange Lantern Larfleeze.

The fanbase is MINE!

• • Red Lantern Dex-Starr too.
  • Hell, the Red Lantern Corps as a whole. They're getting their own series.
  • Ganthet. The only non-Lawful Stupid Guardian on all of Oa. Had the Fridge Brilliance moment of realizing that when a Lantern's hopeful, their will exponentially increases. Hence why he's the man.
• The Legion of Super Heroes started out as a one shot appearance in Superboy. They caught on and eventually edged him out of his own comic. The Legion itself is not lacking in Darkhorses; in fact it's hard to find a character that doesn't have a solid fanbase, Chemical King and the Legion of Subsitute Heroes most notably.
  • The biggest example of a ensemble darkhorse for the Legion of the Super-Heroes is Wildfire; originally a one-shot character who dies in his first appearance, fan response to the character led to the writers bringing him back and make him team leader, after the fan-voted leadership election for the year he joined the team had him win. Though he's largely been absent from the book since the 1989 "Volume Four" reboot, he has a vocal fanbase that has kept the character at the forefront of the property.
    • Like that other faceless EnsembleDarkhorse, part of Wildfire's appeal is his unique design.
• One Hundred Bullets author Brian Azzarello expresses dismay at the popularity of amoral sociopathic hitman Lono in this interview:

He's the most despicable character; a real shitbag. He enjoys torture, and readers can't get enough," said Azzarello. "In one of Lono's earliest appearances, he had a woman tied to a bed and raping her! I figured that should solidify him as 'the bad guy'. But I guess not.

• In Wildguard "Freezerburn" was originally going to die in #4, but the series site poll showed him to be one of the most popular characters. Crag Langley was dispatched instead.
• Watchmen has a flock of these in the form of the Minutemen. Also a good deal of the villains that are mentioned offhandedly, most notably the Twilight Lady.
• Bob, Agent of HYDRA became quite popular for no particular reason when he first appeared in Cable & Deadpool and has gone on to become a fan favorite. Fan reaction to his appearance in Deadpool's new solo title can be summed up as, "OMG, IT'S BOB!"
  • And of course, Deadpool being Deadpool, he knew this, even pointing out there might some day be a "Bob, Agent of HYDRA mini".
  • Heck, Deadpool himself was only an Expy of DC's Deathstroke. His wacky nature and complete lack of fourth wall have now earned him his own series. When X Men Origins: Wolverine was announced, his appearance was probably one of the ones people were most excited about. And after it came out? Probably the most annoyed about.
• Squirrel Girl became the most popular character from Great Lakes Avengers, despite being the newest and least important member of that group. You could argue it's because she's Fun Personified Personified in the otherwise moopy Marvel Universe, but it's mostly attributed to her beating the flock out of villains such as Doctor Doom, Thanos and the evil, evil man with no other powers than The Power Of Talking To Squirrels. In one appearance, she needs to borrow Dr. Doom's time machine to go back in time and rescue Speedball from becoming Penance. She walks into Doom's castle, politely asks to use it and Doom resignedly tells her that it's door past the portrait of his mother without even asking why she's there in the first place.
• The Green Goblin started out as a typical, albeit mysterious B-list villain. Eventually he grew to be so popular, that his secret identity as Norman Osborn was revealed earlier than planned. While he got amnesia for months (sometimes years at a time) his role as a supporting character in fact increased his popularity to the point where he was the villain used in the Drug Story, permanently promoting him to A-list status. His popularity was arguably what led to the creation of the Hobgoblin long after Norman's death. He's so iconic and popular that he's come back from the dead and been the star of a major comic book event. Not only that but as a result, Norman Osborn, a Villain with Good Publicity, headlined THE Top Selling Comic Book for a YEAR.
  • The Spider-Man series also has Mary Jane, who was originally simply meant to be The Rival of Gwen Stacy but eventually became Peter's true love, and Black Cat who transformed from a simple bank robber to a romantic love interest.
  • Venom was going to die after several appearances and the symbiote would have moved on to other hosts but he was so popular that he was kept alive and eventually starred in his own comic book series.
• The Punisher. Originally he was supposed to appear only in one Spider-Man issue. Fans liked him, so he reappeared. And then he became an enemy of Daredevil, because of their different views. He also featured in Captain America comics and some others. And when the world in 80s was ready for a cold blooded killer to become the main character of a series, he got his own comic book. And he was all over the Marvel Universe, not teaming up or fighting against maybe only guys really out of his league like Silver Surfer.
• Moonstone was just another villain until Thunderbolts reinvented her as a Magnificent Bastard Jerkass. Then she had her own comic, was a part of the Dark Avengers team and sat at the right hand of Norman Osborn.
  • Same with Songbird (helps that her hair tastes like starberries).
• While the short-lived comic New Guardians has been largely forgotten, Linkara's review of the second issue gave special attention to one character: Snowflame, a Crazy Awesome one-shot villain who derives superhuman strength from snorting massive amounts of cocaine, which he verbosely revels in and hails as his god. Two crack-addled rants and a beatdown later, he becomes Linkara's favorite character, and now commands a significantly larger fanbase than any of the heroes.
• Scrooge McDuck was originally intended to be a one shot character in Carl Barks's comic Christmas on Bear Mountain. But due to the unexpected popularity of the character he became a recurring character in the Donald Duck comics, eventually getting his own comic book series, and eventually making animated appearances.
• Ares, Greek god of war, had been since The Silver Age of Comic Books nothing more than a lesser enemy of Hercules and Thor who nobody cared about. Then he got a mini-series in 2004 that strongly revamped his character, and later joined the Avengers. Since then multiple writers in multiple titles were working hard to make him win the fans' love. They succeeded so much that his death caused an Internet Backdraft much stronger than the death of Wasp, founding Avenger.
• Many of the characters who came to be reintroduced in mid-90s revival series also experienced this sort of status. Chief among them Animal Man and the Doom Patrol (both reimagined by Grant Morrison), Sandman (to the point where most people outside of comics don't even realize how deeply ingrained DC continuity is in this character's history), Kid Eternity and of course Starman.
• Death from The Sandman. She was originally meant to be a minor recurring character who might appear a handful of times, but her instant popularity with the audience - helped no doubt by her perky, upbeat, kindhearted nature, a sharp contrast to most personifications of Death - was so strong that Gaiman made sure she'd get at least one appearance in all ten volumes. These appearances vary in size but always feel substantial, and their sparsity helps prevent the story from ever focusing on her too much.
  • Not to mention she's become canon in the actual DC universe. She has a long debate about mortality with Lex Luthor in Action Comics #894.
• G.I. Joe's Snake-Eyes. The character created only so that the company could sell another figure without having to pay to paint it ended up becoming the posterboy for the franchise as a whole.
• In the '80s Will Payton version of Starman, his sister Jayne and mother Jo Marie were more popular with fans than Starman himself or any of the villains.
• Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, was originally created as a Distaff Counterpart to Captain Mar-Vell, and even worse, 'the woman whose power got stolen by Rogue' (who is actually more popular). However, she has actually made quite a name for herself and has a reasonably sized fan following. Which is seriously impressive, because usually female clones of popular male superheroes tend to be lame, pointless Flat Characters, but Ms. Marvel has turned out to be really awesome and even outshined her original. She was recently included in both Marvel Ultimate Alliance games as a playable character, and many players agreed that she was one of the best characters. Presumably (and hopefully), she will return as a playable character if they decide to make a third game. She also appears in several other shows such as the The Superhero Squad Show, and comic-wise, she shapes up to be one of the more important heroines of the Marvel Universe (even going so far as becoming the 'Marvel counterpart' of DC's iconic Wonder Woman).
• Blade of the Marvel comic The Tomb of Dracula. He was the token minority character in that 1970s comic and appeared periodically to assist Quincy Harker, Frank Drake, and Rachel Van Helsing. Blade notably teamed up with vampire detective Hannibal King to defeat their archfoe Deacon Frost. He, Frank Drake, and King would continue years later in various 90s comics such as Nightstalkers and Midnight Suns. Drake would vanish as a result of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Even Dracula himself has no reason to show up unless it's for another melee with Blade. King would show up periodically but all vampire-centric Marvel stories of the 90s and 2000s seem to acknowledge Blade as their central main character.
• People really seem to love Ultimate Jessica Drew, Peter's Opposite Sex Clone. She's appeared relatively only a few times in the Ultimate Marvel universe. Yet fans tend to go 'oh no!' whenever something bad happens to her or squeal whenever something good happens.
• Terra from Teen Titans. She's as hated as she is loved. She lasted little more then a year in the comic, but is one of the most well-recalled characters in the series. A "different version" of her was brought in a few years later only to eventually be killed off and replaced by a THIRD one, who has become the best friend/sidekick to Power Girl.