DC Comics has been at the forefront of superheroes since the beginning. Over the years, they’ve created numerous heroes and villains, with the most popular rising to the top. These characters are the ones that get the most attention and many of them have been given their own solo books. Characters like Superman and Batman were the first to get self-titled books, moving out the anthologies where they had been created, opening the floodgates for everyone else. Tastes in superhero comics change all the time; some characters get the chance to rise to solo stardom based on the ever-evolving preferences of the reading public. This has happened numerous times over the years, giving some rather surprising characters solo stardom.
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Looking at the history of the DC Multiverse, the way that tastes in superheroes have ebbed and flowed, there are some characters out there who should have had a solo book at one point of another. They would have fit beautifully into the publishing schedule but for whatever reason, these characters never really got their chance to become the solo stars they should have been. It’s quite surprising that these five DC heroes never got their own solo books, because all of them deserve it.
7) Tempest
The Teen Titans are DC’s premiere teen team, with the first members of the group eventually forming the Titans. One member of the Titans that never really got much love is Tempest, the hero formerly known as Aqualad. Garth of Atlantis was always one of the least-loved sidekicks, getting tarred with the same brush as Arthur, and he was left out of the New Teen Titans. The ’90s saw him gain magical powers and become Tempest, becoming a key part of Peter David’s mid ’90s Aquaman run. Despite being one of DC’s oldest sidekicks and a part of their magic-using community, he’s never had a chance to have his own book. The time to do it would have been either the late ’90s or early ’00s, when DC was trying to move the older Titans in new directions. Dick Grayson, Wally West, and even Roy Harper have all had solo books, but for some reason Garth, who was one of the three original Teen Titans, never has.
4) Detective Chimp
Detective Chimp premiered towards the end of the Golden Age. This was a time when most comic readers were younger, and talking animals always sold to kids. He was one of several animal characters of this time and would eventually fade away as the years went on and comics changed again. However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the DC Multiverse has a talking chimp detective wearing a deerstalker hat and numerous creators put him in the background of group shots or made jokes about him until 2005’s Day of Vengeance, when he was made a part of the Shadowpact. He’s since built up a rather sizable fandom, appearing in Justice League Dark (Vol. 2) and the last few event books as a one of the superhero community’s magical experts. Honestly, right now would be the perfect time for a book starring everyone’s favorite talking ape. DC readers are going for more books off the beaten path and a title starring Bobo seems like a no-brainer.
3) Hourman I
The Justice Society is DC’s first team and they’ve had quite a history. They’ve long been one of the most beloved teams in the publisher’s history, especially since their return to prominence after the successes of books like The Golden Age, Starman (Vol. 2), and Sandman Mystery Theatre, which all showed how amazing DC’s Golden Age heroes could be in the modern day. These ’90s books took the team in more modern directions and there’s one character who would have been perfect for this time period and beyond – the first Hourman. Rex Tyler created Miraclo, a drug that gives you superhuman strength, durability, and stamina for an hour. Now, this might not seem like the power set of an interesting hero, but what makes it interesting is the fact that for years, Miraclo was an addictive drug. Rex was a superhero junkie, something that hasn’t gotten as much attention as you’d imagine. The fact that DC missed giving the character a Vertigo series that dealt with his addiction in a mature manner will always mystify me, as has the fact that no one else has thought of doing it since (I have a pitch, if any DC editors are reading). We got a series starring the third Hourman, but the first definitely should have gotten one.
2) Doctor Occult
So, I know what you’re thinking – why is it surprising that Doctor Occult never got his own solo series? He’s a Z-list magic character that most fans have never heard of. However, this 81-year old character has been around since before Superman ever existed, having cool magical adventures with his partner Rose (the two of them would later share a body) and using the mystical Symbol of the Seven to keep the world safe from the monsters haunting the shadows. He played a big role in Books of Magic (Vol. 1), but never got the Vertigo series that he probably should have gotten. Richard Occult and Rose would have been perfect for the dark mature readers imprint, but instead they just got pushed out of the spotlight. Since then, he’s finally been getting some attention, showing up in Justice League Unlimited (I think Mark Waid is a fan) and he’s long been a staple of event comics, helping marshal the magic users. It’s long past due for him to get a series, something that should have been remedied decades ago.
1) Donna Troy
Donna Troy is DC’s most convoluted superhero, which may be the reason why she’s never gotten her solo series. However, it will always be strange that she’s never had her own series of any kind. The closest she got was DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1-4, which resurrected her after her death in Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day (and it’s excellent, from the amazing team of Phil Jimenez and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez) and was as much about her friends finding her as anything else. DC probably didn’t want to do it without cleaning up her origin, but it’s still strange. She’s the first Wonder Girl, a founding member of the Teen Titans, the New Teen Titans, and the Titans, and has even worked as Wonder Woman for a short time (although she wasn’t actually the star of Wonder Woman (Vol. 3); Diana was while she was posing as Diana Prince again) and been a member of the Justice League. She’s an icon and a favorite of many fans (I’ve always referred to her as DC’s Jean Grey, because she seems to hold a similar place in the fandom as Jean), and maybe one day the publisher will give her the solo book her fans have wanted.
What DC character do you think deserves a solo book? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
