Iron Woman

[Charles Scholz]

Marvel is replacing Tony Stark as Iron Man - again. This time it is a woman.
New Iron Man

[Krensky]

She's not the first black woman to wear a suit of Iron Man armor and use the name.

Well, technically she is I suppose, but that's due to time travel and wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.

[Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Today]

Go on...

[Nohwear]

Hopefully, they will properly utilize how this demographic is under represented in the engineering community, at least that is my understanding.

[Lemmy]

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

[Marc Radle]

Wait, this is just in the comics, right? I thought you were saying this was happening in the movies (since you posted it in the Movies forum)

To avoid confusion, this should probably get moved to the Comics forum ...

[Ambrosia Slaad]

I like the idea, and how it feels like Marvel is finally developing more legacy superheroes. Without having read it, my only real complaints are:

1) If they were going to let Riri Williams step into Shellhead's boots, why did they kill off

Spoiler:

RHODEY?!?! He would have been a far better mentor to the new Iron Woman than Stark. Also, inclusion isn't a zero sum game; Rhodey doesn't have to leave to make room for Williams. Hell, set up an Iron Man, Inc. title with a worldwide team of Iron Heroes.

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in. If Marvel wants this to succeed, he needs to hand it off to another writer... possibly even a woman or non-white writer.

[Lord Fyre]

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in. If Marvel wants this to succeed, he needs to hand it off to another writer... possibly even a woman or non-white writer.

A non-white writer would be a good move.

So would a woman artist.

[Gleaming Terrier]

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

And the counterpoint is, of course, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan.

[Lemmy]

Gleaming Terrier wrote:

And the counterpoint is, of course, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan.

Kamala Khan is "Ms Marvel" in name only, though...

She has very different powers, so she doesn't feel like a second rate Carol Denvers. And she isn't presented as "Ms Marvel, but better".

[Lord Fyre]

Gleaming Terrier wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

And the counterpoint is, of course, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan.

Though you do point out why MARVEL needed to keep James Rhodes and kill off Tony Stark.

[Lemmy]

Lord Fyre wrote:

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in. If Marvel wants this to succeed, he needs to hand it off to another writer... possibly even a woman or non-white writer.

A non-white writer would be a good move.

So would a woman artist.

Why does this matter? What difference does it make as long it is a good writer?

[Lord Fyre]

Lemmy wrote:

Lord Fyre wrote:

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in. If Marvel wants this to succeed, he needs to hand it off to another writer... possibly even a woman or non-white writer.

A non-white writer would be a good move.

So would a woman artist.

Why does this matter? What difference does it make as long it is a good writer?

Different viewpoint.

[Sundakan]

I've always been confused as to why heroes need to be "replaced". Why couldn't she be her own character, as others said?

Batman had Robin. Robin didn't become Batman (shut up), he became Nightwing.

She seems like an interesting character, but why is she "Iron Woman" instead of a progression of Iron Man? Her own name, own theme somewhat, but with Stark as the mentor, and still Iron man himself.

This is sort of like if Rhodey came along and instead of War Machine he was "Black Iron Man".

[thejeff]

Hmmm. I may pick this up. Bendis can be good, though he's hit or miss for me. The premise sounds interesting though.

I doubt Stark will be going away. He might actually be more interesting out of the armor for awhile.

[thejeff]

Sundakan wrote:

I've always been confused as to why heroes need to be "replaced". Why couldn't she be her own character, as others said?

Batman had Robin. Robin didn't become Batman (shut up), he became Nightwing.

She seems like an interesting character, but why is she "Iron Woman" instead of a progression of Iron Man? Her own name, own theme somewhat, but with Stark as the mentor, and still Iron man himself.

This is sort of like if Rhodey came along and instead of War Machine he was "Black Iron Man".

Which he was, you know, when he first put on the armor. Well, not "Black" Iron Man, since no one could tell under the armor, but he replaced Iron Man for a couple of years. Long before War Machine.

[Krensky]

Sundakan wrote:

I've always been confused as to why heroes need to be "replaced". Why couldn't she be her own character, as others said?

Batman had Robin. Robin didn't become Batman (shut up), he became Nightwing.

She seems like an interesting character, but why is she "Iron Woman" instead of a progression of Iron Man? Her own name, own theme somewhat, but with Stark as the mentor, and still Iron man himself.

This is sort of like if Rhodey came along and instead of War Machine he was "Black Iron Man".

Rhodey was Iron Man before he was War Machine. The other Rhodey called herself Iron Man too.

[Sundakan]

I actually didn't know that. Which kind of speaks for itself, really. He only became mainstream recognizable as his own character when he wasn't just "The new Iron Man".

[Nohwear]

Ideally, she will do the same.

[Lemmy]

Lord Fyre wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Lord Fyre wrote:

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in. If Marvel wants this to succeed, he needs to hand it off to another writer... possibly even a woman or non-white writer.

A non-white writer would be a good move.

So would a woman artist.

Why does this matter? What difference does it make as long it is a good writer?

Different viewpoint.

Do you think people can't understand or sympathize with anything they haven't personally experienced? Do you think people can't write good characters/stories unless they match the character's physical characteristics and/or social background?

[Sundakan]

Writers tend to write what they know. Even a good writer can only vaguely approximate something they've never experienced. If you want a simple example, look at the differences between American, Canadian, and British media. It FEELS very different between the three, because the countries for all their cultural similarities also still have vast cultural differences as well.

Skill is still the deciding factor, of course, but writers with different experiences are necessary for stories to be varied. And gender and race differences result in variance just as large, if sometimes a lot subtler than larger cultural/national ones.

[thejeff]

Sundakan wrote:

I actually didn't know that. Which kind of speaks for itself, really. He only became mainstream recognizable as his own character when he wasn't just "The new Iron Man".

He became mainstream recognizable when he played second fiddle in a blockbuster movie, let's be real.

As for why you didn't know that, it's probably that it was 2-3 years, 30 years ago and he's been War Machine much longer. It was also that stint in the armor as Iron Man that won him the fanbase that led to him coming back as War Machine and getting his own title - though it never sold well enough to last very long.

Still, he's one of the better examples of what you want to have happen from one of these replacement storylines - the character moves past temporary replacement status to be a minor success in their own right. Obviously you'd love to have them break through to A-List status, but that's hard. Very few characters of any origin have done it in decades.

[Ambrosia Slaad]

Lemmy wrote:

Lord Fyre wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Lord Fyre wrote:

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in. If Marvel wants this to succeed, he needs to hand it off to another writer... possibly even a woman or non-white writer.

A non-white writer would be a good move.

So would a woman artist.

Why does this matter? What difference does it make as long it is a good writer?

Different viewpoint.

Do you think people can't understand or sympathize with anything they haven't personally experienced? Do you think people can't write good characters/stories unless they match the character's physical characteristics and/or social background?

I don't think anyone is saying that a white and/or male writer can't write for the new Iron Woman, and write the title & character well. But I'd also argue the when the main character(s) on a title is a non-white and/or non-male, going with a writer with a similar or closer background and life experiences can bring in new insights and character development. I can't imagine the current Ms. Marvel title would be as good and fresh without a Muslim woman as a writer & creator. Although it's early yet, I think this is why the Black Panther is showing so much promise with a black man writing it and another drawing it. We readers won't really know the wealth of insights that non-white and non-male creators can bring to our heroes (and villains) until they get a fair shake at actually writing them.

Edit: Also what ninja Sundakan said.

[Lord Fyre]

Sundakan wrote:

Writers tend to write what they know. Even a good writer can only vaguely approximate something they've never experienced. If you want a simple example, look at the differences between American, Canadian, and British media. It FEELS very different between the three, because the countries for all their cultural similarities also still have vast cultural differences as well.

Skill is still the deciding factor, of course, but writers with different experiences are necessary for stories to be varied. and gender and race differences result in variance just as large, if sometimes a lot subtler than larger cultural/national ones.

Thank You.

I was afraid to try to answer this directly.

[Alex Martin]

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in.

I have no issues with the concept of new heroine or replacement heroine that adds diversity. The concern I have is spot on with this. Bendis can create an excellent buildup, but he's notorious for mucking it up once he gets the idea out and/or flat out making it his "mary sue of the month" at the expense of story continuity. To make sure it doesn't fail as a gimmick or dissing of Iron Man fans, someone will hopefully move it beyond him very quickly.

[Lemmy]

Empathy and creativity are major components of our species. Humans only got where we are because of them, considering how important living in society is for our survival.

Many of the best stories every written were by written by people who didn't share the ethnicity, gender, nationality or social background of their characters... Very few writers were actual princes and princesses, after all.

Having writers from different backgrounds can help, but is far from being as important as the writer's skill.

[Freehold DM]

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

what about rhodey?

This whole rant is kinda deflated by him.

[Lemmy]

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

what about rhodey?

This whole rant is kinda deflated by him.

You mean the guy who was replaced by the original and stayed forever a poor man's iron man? I don't see how he deflates anything...

To me, the worst offender is Hal Jordan, who keeps coming back as the "main" GL, despite being by far the least interesting GL on Earth. -.-'

[thejeff]

Lemmy wrote:

Empathy and creativity are major components of our species. Humans only got where we are because of them, considering how important living in society is for our survival.

Many of the best stories every written were by written by people who didn't share the ethnicity, gender, nationality or social background of their characters... Very few writers were actual princes and princesses, after all.

Having writers from different backgrounds can help, but is far from being as important as the writer's skill.

That's true. Especially on the individual case. But when there's an entire industry as heavily dominated by white male writers as the mainstream comics world has been, adding more diversity is always good.

When it comes to writing female or minority characters and even when it comes to the white male characters.

OTOH, there's a small part of me that thinks superhero comics are best when written and drawn by a small handful of New York Jews. :)

[Freehold DM]

Lord Fyre wrote:

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

2) Why the f!ck is Bendis writing this? He has demonstrated he can really only write one book, occasionally two, at time and do it well. Anything more and he starts phoning it in. If Marvel wants this to succeed, he needs to hand it off to another writer... possibly even a woman or non-white writer.

A non-white writer would be a good move.

So would a woman artist.

don't care who's writing it as long as it isn't bendis

Spoiler:

or whedon, Alton Brown or Mark Zuckerberg

. He has become something of a hack over time.

[Ambrosia Slaad]

Lemmy wrote:

Having writers from different backgrounds can help, but is far from being as important as the writer's skill.

But if potential writers from those different backgrounds (aka non-white, non-male) don't get a fair shake to try out and develop as writers, we the readers will never know how skillful they might become, will we?

Edit: And ninja'd by thejeff. That'll learn me to sleep through Ninjitsu 101.

[Ninja Cap'n Yesterday]

Haha! I slept through Ninja School much faster than you! Haha!

[Freehold DM]

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Having writers from different backgrounds can help, but is far from being as important as the writer's skill.

But if potential writers from those different backgrounds (aka non-white, non-male) don't get a fair shake to try out and develop as writers, we the readers will never know how skillful they might become, will we?

Edit: And ninja'd by thejeff. That'll learn me to sleep through Ninjitsu 101.

I am more interested in breaking away from the stable of writers marvel has a bad history of handing books off to. It would be great if they were a benetton ad, but right now, just anyone that we have not been overly exposed to or is currently writing 8 other books.

[Lemmy]

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Having writers from different backgrounds can help, but is far from being as important as the writer's skill.

But if potential writers from those different backgrounds (aka non-white, non-male) don't get a fair shake to try out and develop as writers, we the readers will never know how skillful they might become, will we?

You act like I'm saying I'm against having black, or female or whatever writers... That couldn't be farther from the truth.

I just don't care about any of it, as long as the writer gives me good stories. And I don't think you need to have a writer from whatever ethnicity, gender, nationality or social background their character belong in order to create a good character and write good stories... Specially in a time where communication and information are as easy and prevalent as today.

I'm all for having a more varied group of writers... Because increasing the "selection pool" of writers increases the chances of finding good writers.

[Lemmy]

Freehold DM wrote:

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Having writers from different backgrounds can help, but is far from being as important as the writer's skill.

But if potential writers from those different backgrounds (aka non-white, non-male) don't get a fair shake to try out and develop as writers, we the readers will never know how skillful they might become, will we?

Edit: And ninja'd by thejeff. That'll learn me to sleep through Ninjitsu 101.

I am more interested in breaking away from the stable of writers marvel has a bad history of handing books off to. It would be great if they were a benetton ad, but right now, just anyone that we have not been overly exposed to or is currently writing 8 other books.

I think one of the big problems of comic industries is that most readers follow characters, rather than writers... That makes it harder for good writers to stand out from mediocrity.

[Freehold DM]

Sundakan wrote:

I've always been confused as to why heroes need to be "replaced". Why couldn't she be her own character, as others said?

Batman had Robin. Robin didn't become Batman (shut up), he became Nightwing.

She seems like an interesting character, but why is she "Iron Woman" instead of a progression of Iron Man? Her own name, own theme somewhat, but with Stark as the mentor, and still Iron man himself.

This is sort of like if Rhodey came along and instead of War Machine he was "Black Iron Man".

ninja'd above for rhodey, but shut ups or not, dick has been batman on several occasions.

[Freehold DM]

Lemmy wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

what about rhodey?

This whole rant is kinda deflated by him.

You mean the guy who was replaced by the original and stayed forever a poor man's iron man? I don't see how he deflates anything...

To me, the worst offender is Hal Jordan, who keeps coming back as the "main" GL, despite being by far the least interesting GL on Earth. -.-'

while I agree on hal (who will always be my second least favorite lantern), you are easily wrong on rhodey. War machine deserves his own book.

[phantom1592]

Lemmy wrote:

I think one of the big problems of comic industries is that most readers follow characters, rather than writers... That makes it harder for good writers to stand out from mediocrity.

I would say the opposite actually. In the 80's and 90's that was pretty much the case, but now?? The writers are the standouts of the industry, character's established continuity and characterization is frequently tossed out based on whatever superstar writer decides he wants at the moment. I have seen a LOT of people who follow around Morrison, Robinson, Bendis, Johns, etc. etc.... regardless of who their writing... so the companies try to saddle them with as many characters/books/events as possible.

Myself, I'm still a character reader. I like specific characters, and if they get saddled with a terrible writer, I bite down and ride out the run and hope for someone better... if the best writer in the world was put on Deadpool or Wolverine or Harley Quinn... I still wouldn't read it since I have no interest in them. However, based on the message boards, I'm in the severe minority now. It's all about 'who' is writing/drawing, and less about whatever it is they're writing.

[phantom1592]

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

what about rhodey?

This whole rant is kinda deflated by him.

You mean the guy who was replaced by the original and stayed forever a poor man's iron man? I don't see how he deflates anything...

To me, the worst offender is Hal Jordan, who keeps coming back as the "main" GL, despite being by far the least interesting GL on Earth. -.-'

while I agree on hal (who will always be my second least favorite lantern), you are easily wrong on rhodey. War machine deserves his own book.

War Machine HAD a book... a couple times, he REALLY doesn't ever catch on. Same with all those 'other' Lanterns who people think is more interesting than Hal. They've all had their shots... they've all been found wanting. Only Hal is a truly great lantern ;)

[Sundakan]

Not sure how much of that is sarcasm.

[Thomas Seitz]

First let me say this:

I LOVE Jane Foster as Thor. She truly takes what it means as a character who has an enduring legacy with the God of Thunder and made it her own.

Same for Kamala Khan. She's Ms Marvel to me moreso than Carol ever was.

But this move? This one right here? Not sure I'm a huge fan.

If they wanted a new Iron Man, by god GIVE IT BACK TO RHODEY!

I'm down with that. I totally be behind that. This? Not so much.

While I still yearn for Steve Rogers to get his footing back (Damn you
Queseda and your stupid ideas!), I'm still taken with Sam Wilson being
Cap. Mostly because he's the America of the future. Steve Rogers will always be kind of past link but inspirational figure.

This new Iron Woman? No...

[phantom1592]

Lemmy wrote:

Empathy and creativity are major components of our species. Humans only got where we are because of them, considering how important living in society is for our survival.

Many of the best stories every written were by written by people who didn't share the ethnicity, gender, nationality or social background of their characters... Very few writers were actual princes and princesses, after all.

Having writers from different backgrounds can help, but is far from being as important as the writer's skill.

I agree with this.

None of the great writes out there are Aliens... or can fly... or scientific masterminds. Stan Lee has repeatedly said he didn't understand anything he wrote. Gamma Rays? Radiation? He didn't know what they were... just thought they sounded cool.

A GOOD writer is required to NOT just write about ONE specific ethnic niche. If you search out and find a poor black woman who succeeded and hope she writes this new Iron Woman with that specific viewpoint... How will she write Tony's rich white male playboy persona when he arrives? What if she gets put on an avengers team with a dozen characters of varying backgrounds and lifestyles?

Personally, i'm all for bringing in a TON of new writers and flooding the market with new and interesting characters... but if you ONLY try to match up characters with people who lived that life...because only THEY can write something of whatever niche you're looking at... then the stories will suck. You'll have ONE accurate voice in a sea of supporting characters that are cardboard cutouts.

In a realm that is SUPPOSED to be unbelievable and fantastical.

[phantom1592]

Sundakan wrote:

Not sure how much of that is sarcasm.

Not much at all... Huge Hal fan here ;)

The others have very little going for them, and have their personalities/backgrounds constantly changed and reversed in some drastic hope to make them interesting.

[Thomas Seitz]

*goes back to wondering how much longer we'll have Hydra Cap...*

[Freehold DM]

phantom1592 wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

what about rhodey?

This whole rant is kinda deflated by him.

You mean the guy who was replaced by the original and stayed forever a poor man's iron man? I don't see how he deflates anything...

To me, the worst offender is Hal Jordan, who keeps coming back as the "main" GL, despite being by far the least interesting GL on Earth. -.-'

while I agree on hal (who will always be my second least favorite lantern), you are easily wrong on rhodey. War machine deserves his own book.

War Machine HAD a book... a couple times, he REALLY doesn't ever catch on. Same with all those 'other' Lanterns who people think is more interesting than Hal. They've all had their shots... they've all been found wanting. Only Hal is a truly great lantern ;)

no he isnt.

The only other lantern to have his own book truly was john. And that went unappreciated by immature fans. All the other lanterns have either been green lantern in green lantern or have not been green lanterns while in their own book. Hal is like bologna. He's just this side of offensively plain.

[Sundakan]

phantom1592 wrote:

Sundakan wrote:

Not sure how much of that is sarcasm.

Not much at all... Huge Hal fan here ;)

The others have very little going for them, and have their personalities/backgrounds constantly changed and reversed in some drastic hope to make them interesting.

Granted, I'm no Green Lantern expert, but from what little I DO know "has his personality/background constantly changed and reversed in some drastic hope to make them interesting" sounds just like Parralax Hal.

[EltonJ]

Hmm . . . I don't think it will last.

[phantom1592]

Sundakan wrote:

phantom1592 wrote:

Sundakan wrote:

Not sure how much of that is sarcasm.

Not much at all... Huge Hal fan here ;)

The others have very little going for them, and have their personalities/backgrounds constantly changed and reversed in some drastic hope to make them interesting.

Granted, I'm no Green Lantern expert, but from what little I DO know "has his personality/background constantly changed and reversed in some drastic hope to make them interesting" sounds just like Parralax Hal.

Parallax was a different situation. that was an assassination to remove Hal and insert new guy. There was never any intention of Evil Hal gaining massive support and running his own book in that form. When they did bring him back... his backstory was still intact an current Hal is very much the same character as he was back in the 70's and 80's...

Freehold DM wrote:

phantom1592 wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Lemmy wrote:

*rolls eyes*

Why create interesting, unique characters when you can take the easy route and just slap an existing name into another character and say it's "new", huh? It's particularly annoying when they want to paint the new character as a better version of the original...

Stupid gimmicky move... All this does is doom the new character to eventually be replaced by the original or stay forever a "second class" hero, forever under the shadow of its predecessor.

what about rhodey?

This whole rant is kinda deflated by him.

You mean the guy who was replaced by the original and stayed forever a poor man's iron man? I don't see how he deflates anything...

To me, the worst offender is Hal Jordan, who keeps coming back as the "main" GL, despite being by far the least interesting GL on Earth. -.-'

while I agree on hal (who will always be my second least favorite lantern), you are easily wrong on rhodey. War machine deserves his own book.

War Machine HAD a book... a couple times, he REALLY doesn't ever catch on. Same with all those 'other' Lanterns who people think is more interesting than Hal. They've all had their shots... they've all been found wanting. Only Hal is a truly great lantern ;)

no he isnt.

The only other lantern to have his own book truly was john. And that went unappreciated by immature fans. All the other lanterns have either been green lantern in green lantern or have not been green lanterns while in their own book. Hal is like bologna. He's just this side of offensively plain.

That John no longer exists was pretty much my point. That mature introspective John who ran Mosaic and kept all the aliens from tearing each other apart... is NOT the John that was in the Darkstars... and contributed NOTHING to the John that was in JLAU... and is nothing like the current John.

Somehow they took the introspective architect and went super tough marine sniper with him. Old John wouldn't be creating giant green Sniper rifles to take out sinestro corp members from distance. I actually LIKED Older John... (Not as much as Hal, but more then Guy or Kyle...) I think the biggest crime they ever did to John was keep him in Kyle's book... and not use him. Here we have rookie who was all self taught... hanging around with a veteran Lantern who had official training... and yet Kyle's still trying to read people's lips in space?? John could have been a great mentor.

Guy?? He was created as a caricature. He was designed to be the biggest most violent, most mysoginistic jerk... you weren't MEANT to like him. yet he was the GL of Earth for years and a member of the JLI while Hal was rebuilding the corp in space... His backstory has had him as a high school coach... or a lawyer... or possibly a cop? Every time I turn around they're doing something weird with his characterization.

Kyle?? He owned the book for a decade. Can't say he never had a shot. once he ceased being a rookie, they didn't know what else to do with him.

Hal is all about his personality. His courage, his confidence, his experience. One of the first of the silver age heroes, first earthman in the corp, founder of the JLA. He's been a loyal follower AND has the moral compass to tell the all knowing bosses "NO... I won't DO that."

I've never understood people who find him 'boring' He has the most personality and depth of any of them, and has had decades fleshing it out.