GV #141 guest refers to "the 4 big characters" of today

[Oxmyx]

When discussing using "core characters" vesus... Not core characters.

Senior Editorial Director
Robert Meyers

So, what're those four?
Bloodshot has gotta be one.
XO is another for sure.
After that there's a ton of opinion.
Eternal Warrior probably. (But the Valiant publishing record doesn't really support that.)
Ninjak? Shadowman? Rai? ArcherArmstrong? Livewire? Harbingers?

Thoughts?

[nycjadie]

I'm a huge fan of EW, but man, nobody buys that title. Seriously, Robert has a point. I thought the same thing last night after rereading Book of Death.

Bloodshot has become one of the four horseman, but I feel like it's because of the movie development. His popularity has increased significantly since VEI relaunch.

Shadowman had the opposite happen. It's the only original V1 property that has a video game. HELLO! It may be the most financially successful original V1 property. Now? Hardly.

Ninjak has skyrocketed in popularity. Web series, VEI lines, coffee mugs.... I mean, it's first run only went 26 issues!

Rai is great, but the 4001 universe suffers from not having more signifiant other characters (cough Magnus).

Harbinger is not a character, but that title is absolutely one of the four horsemen, perhaps bar none in popularity and importance. It's the lingua franca of Valiant.

So you have X-O, Harbinger, Bloodshot (recently) and ?

I argue A&A is the fourth. It has been consistently strong in importance to the Valiant Universe, storytelling, and timeliness of that quintessential buddy saga.

[Oxmyx]

I'm a huge fan of EW, but man, nobody buys that title. Seriously, Robert has a point. I thought the same thing last night after rereading Book of Death.

Shadowman had the opposite happen. It's the only original V1 property that has a video game. HELLO!

Ninjak has skyrocketed in popularity. Web series, VEI lines, coffee mugs.... I mean, it's first run only went 26 issues! .

Harbinger is not a character, but that title is absolutely one of the four horsemen, perhaps bar none in popularity and importance. It's the lingua franca of Valiant.

In the quote I refer to he specifically called "the big four CHERACTERS"
So, I don't even think Harby or AA apply in his comments. I'm not saying they don't in our perspectives. I agree Harby and AA are lynchpin.

Great points about the others. Ninjak and Bloodshot are definitely stars because of VEI. Ninjak even moreso. It's very sad about Shadowman...you are quite right.

But about Harby being lingua Franca...in VEI after the first few years I don't feel like that is true, except that we understand that it SHOULD be true, and graft our feelings onto it

[Oxmyx]

Rai is great, but the 4001 universe suffers from not having more signifiant other characters (cough Magnus).

(*cough* Blister) (*cough cough* XO Commando, She Devil of War)

[aj583]

Good question to chew on. My thoughts:

Tier 1
X-O
Bloodshot
A&A (technically a team, but work with me)
Ninjak (makes it now due to VEI popularity)

Tier 1.5
Shadowman (was Tier 1 in V1 days)
Eternal Warrior (was Tier 1 in V1 days, is VEI Unity member)
Rai
Livewire (was positioned for Tier 1 but hasn’t made it, is VEI Unity member)

Tier 2
Everyone else


Faith is positioned to jump from Tier 2 to Tier 1. If we were talking full teams...Harbinger would be Tier 1 for me, Psi-Lords is Tier 3.



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[kjjohanson]

As far as characters o in VEI, I would say XO, Bloodshot, Ninjak, and Rai. Popularity is entirely determined by havin a good creative team. Kindt propelled Ninjak to the top tier. Diggle could have returned Shadowman to the top tier if he remained. I think that series was what I was looking for from Shadowman at the start. Heisserer could have kept Livewire in the top tier if he had stuck around as well.

[GammaJosh]

I think it's X-O, Harbinger, Bloodshot, and Archer & Armstrong.

Those were the 4 launch books in 2012, so that tells you a lot about their thinking right there.

Shadowman and Eternal Warrior were later, so I think that supports the "tier 1.5" designation.

[TheFerg714]

The original core four were X-O, Harbinger, Bloodshot, and A&A.

X-O and Bloodshot are inarguable, but for the life of me, I can't figure out the other two. It's all up in the air at the moment.

[Shadowman99]

I'm a huge fan of EW, but man, nobody buys that title.

Me too. Sad every time Eternal Warrior is mentioned on this forum because the character is great. I just don't know why it won't stick.

The Big Four Vs. The Big of OF TODAY - Important distinction to be made here I think folks.

So, I'd say, the Big Four of Today... Bloodshot, without a doubt. Then Rai, then... A rotating cast of characters in miniseries? (Read: "Who f0rking knows?")