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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 135682
Posted: 19 February 2026 at 4:04pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

The Freedom Force (Hercules, Isis, Merlin, Sinbad and Super-Samurai)

•••

That doesn’t sound like a group name for those characters!

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Eric Jansen
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 27 October 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 2541
Posted: 20 February 2026 at 1:48am | IP Logged | 2 post reply

I totally agree with a lot of these!  Bloodstone and Stargod joining Machine Man at the top of the list.  Stargod is such a magnificent design, one of Perez's best.  As was the Adrian Chase Vigilante.

I finally read reprints of Bloodstone's final magazine appearances, and I was shocked to see my favorite writer Steve Gerber totally destroy the concept even as he killed off Bloodstone.  I mean salt the earth territory!

Same thing has recently come to my attention about the Adrian Chase Vigilante (currently being mocked mercilessly in the PEACEMAKER show).  Another great design by George Perez, and concept by Marv Wolfman.  I had quit DC by then, but I have discovered that later writer Paul Kupperberg did the same thing with Vigilante--totally destroy the concept then kill off the character.

I thought John Warner created Bloodstone, but I now read that Wolfman and Len Wein came up with the idea and gave it to Warner to flesh out--I totally see Blade DNA in there so Wolfman's involvement is not a surprise.

After reading the BLOODSTONE collection, I had to wonder if Gerber had a personal gripe against John Warner, to totally destroy the character!  Now I'm wondering if Gerber and Kupperberg both had something against Marv Wolfman!

And Denny O'Neil's version of THE QUESTION is well-regarded, but, boy, it is certainly not what Steve Ditko intended!  And O'Neil previously scripted Ditko CREEPER--did bad blood come out of that?

How much of real world personal feelings make it into our fiction?  And why do people work on characters they seem to hate?
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