5 Marvel Heroes Who Would Slay In a Reality TV Show

Marvel Comics has done an outstanding job of creating characters that fans want to read about. The House of Ideas decided that they wanted to do superheroes in a different way from their distinguished competition, creating heroes that have been able to really connect with fans. Their adventures have allowed readers to watch them grow and change as they did, with generations of readers growing up with characters like Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Kamala Khan, Jubilee, the original five X-Men and numerous others. For the older characters, we got to see the insane soap opera of their life, watching as the craziness of being a superhero completely changed everything for them.

In a lot of ways, superhero comics have a lot in common with reality TV shows. The best characters have messy, dramatic lives and we get to see all of that. On top of that, their adventures are a lot like the challenges that reality show contestants have to perform in some shows of the genre. Over the years, Marvel has toyed with the idea of superheroes and reality shows, but it never really caught on. However, there are definitely heroes who would be amazing in a reality show. These five Marvel heroes would be awesome in reality shows, each of their lives the perfect fodder for the drama we all love.

5) Cyclops

Cyclops is the X-Men’s greatest leader and at first glance doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would do well in reality shows. Scott Summers has a tendency to be boring and overbearing; while this helps him as a leader – attention to detail keeps people alive in his world – it can mean that his stories aren’t the greatest. However, what makes him so perfect for reality shows is the drama of his life. This is a man who has never met a telepath who didn’t want him, has the messiest family you can imagine – absent space pirate dad, jealous younger brother who has been mind-controlled more times than he probably remembers, an insane youngest brother who wants to kill him more often than not, and the weirdest children ever, all of whom could show up at any time and drag Scott into some insanity. That’s before we get to him having to figure out a way to protect mutantkind from human bigots. A Cyclops reality show would be a blast, a boring tactics nerd having to deal with the strangest things ever.

4) The Wasp

Janet Van Dyne was a wealthy socialite in New York City, a woman known for designing clothes and being fabulous. Her relationship with Hank Pym changed her life forever, with her becoming the Wasp, one of the Avengers’ most stalwart members. If you look at her life, it’s basically been the superhero version of a reality show. There’s been the Avengers drama, her relationship drama, dealing with the problems of her past, constantly changing her costume, and basically being a gossip, flirt, and one of the toughest people ever. She’s witty and charming, two things every reality star needs. She’s had one of the most interesting lives in comics and the sheer amount of guest stars and their related shenanigans would keep the show extremely entertaining. Plus, her sartorial skills mean you can put her on a fashion design show or as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race or something like that. You could start your own reality show franchise with Jan and it would be must-see TV.

3) Speedball

The New Warriors are an amazing teen team, one that has been mostly left behind by Marvel Comics. They re-appeared as a reality show team in Civil War #1 (and then had a prequel miniseries about their reality show because that first issue killed most of them), which is one reason why Speedball should be here. The other reason is that he’s legitimately perfect for a reality show. He’s the fun, dumb guy, the dude who will do anything and has a heart of gold. His bouncing powers make him basically indestructible, so you could put him a Jackass-style show and it would be fantastic. Speedball is a character who can be a blast if he’s written right (and my inner edgy ’00s twentysomething has a weird love for the Penance version of the character I can’t explain) and putting him in reality TV settings would allow him to shine. He’s not the best hero, but he’d be an amazing reality star.

2) Wonder Man

Wonder Man is a movie star whose career has seen better days, which means that at some point, he would definitely make his way to reality TV. Simon Williams was born for reality TV. He has an evil brother, is just gullible enough (he became a supervillain to save his brother from prison and ended up dead the first time he showed up), is insanely good-looking, and is charming and funny. Wonder Man’s life as a Hollywood superhero, trying to score acting gigs while dealing with his costumed job, would be an amazing reality show, It gets even better when you realize that the woman he loves the most is Scarlet Witch, meaning you have an instant love triangle with her, Vision, and Simon AND Quicksilver could show up as a guest star and make everyone miserable for a little bit. Wonder Man is a character who really hasn’t done a lot in the last couple of decades, meaning that the show could have the “washed-up” vibe that viewers love so much, a rags to riches thing. It would perfect for him.

1) Iron Man

Iron Man is one of Marvel’s greatest legends, battling evil and building cool armors since the 1960s. Tony Stark is everything you could want in a reality TV star. He’s rich and good-looking, known for his success with the ladies. He’s smart and witty, able to make everyone in the room pay attention to him. He’s tenacious, unpredictable, and has the kind of dark past that adds another dimension to him. Here’s an example of why it would all work so well – his secretary Pepper, who he fell in love with, left him for his best friend, Happy, and then eventually left him as well. All three of them still work for the same company. That’s basically a reality TV set-up right there and that’s before you get to Madame Masque, his ex-girlfriend whose dad helps runs the superpowered mafia, or any of the many superwomen he’s hooked up with. The show could have a little bit of everything. He’s also make an amazing host of a design show of some type. Iron Man became a superstar again on the big screen and would slay on a reality show.

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