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Replacement Superheroes

Comicscape: A horse-faced alien named Beta Ray Bill once replaced the Mighty Thor
© Mania

Ask anyone who has ever been unemployed and had to pick up a temp job: it’s tough. You can take satisfaction in the fact that you’re bringing home a paycheck, but you know that it won’t last and sooner or later you’ll be pounding the pavement (or the internet) in search of employment. It’s gotta be twice as hard for a superhero. First you’ve got to deal with the loss of someone who was very likely your friend or mentor. The natural high that accompanies accepting the mantle of a fallen legend is tempered by the sadness of loss. The average person goes through the five stages of grief but in addition to denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, the superhero is also met with a sixth stage that runs concurrently with the rest: knowledge of impending return. The knowledge that even though you made it up from 2^nd tier or sidekick status to the big leagues, you’ll eventually have to forge a new identity. Look how well that worked out for Thunderstrike, Azrael and US Agent.

Flash-in-the-Pan

Poor Wally West. He started out as a sidekick with one of the coolest costumes in the business. While Speedy just wore a red version of Green Arrow’s outfit and Robin had to shave his legs on a regular basis, Kid Flash graduated from a kid-sized Flash outfit to one that was visually distinctive and set him apart from his mentor. Eventually, he put that Flash outfit back on but this time, it was a grown-up version and he took over the name as well. For over two decades, Wally West wore the mantle of the Flash and then… rebirth.

So where is Wally now that Barry Allen has returned? No, seriously – where is he? We haven’t seen the guy. Last time we did, he was running around in one of the most disappointing new costumes in recent memory. Rather than alter the colors of his outfit or come up with a new logo or identity, Wally got a suit that looks like a cross between the animated version and the one we saw on the old Flash TV show; it’s just like Barry’s, but a shade darker and this one has a lightning bolt that only zig-zags once and his nose is covered. Ooooh boy!

We’re assuming that Wally is still appearing in some Titans book somewhere, but we’re certainly not reading it. Geoff Johns has some sort of Flash-centric event in the works but for now, Wally is relegated to message boards where angry geeks bemoan his lack-of-status in the DCU.

From Sidekick to Hero to Junior Dark Knight

And what will become of Dick Grayson, everybody’s favorite Boy Wonder-turned-hero? He went from being the world’s most recognizable sidekick to forging his own unique identity. Obviously he never quite escaped the shadow of the Bat, but he wasn’t really supposed to. Whenever you think of Nightwing, you have to think of Batman – but at least Dick got his own city to protect and a really sweet costume (the most recent one). After going through the big shoulder pad craze of the 1990’s and sporting one of the most exquisite mullets in four-color history, Dick finally got to step up to the plate and put on the big boy pants. He became the Batman.

But with Bruce Wayne’s return looming, what will become of Dick? Grant Morrison is making plans to turn Batman into a franchise and it sounds like Mr. Grayson will be entering Wally West territory. He looks like Batman and they’ll still call him Batman, but he won’t really be Batman. How must that feel? To finally be sitting at the grown up table but never allowed to make a toast or cut the turkey? Especially when you used to have your own hero identity, one that took years to establish? And where can Dick go from here? Sure, he could go back to being Nightwing but that might feel like going back to the minors after winning the World Series. It would’ve been logical to turn him into Red Robin, but DC gave that role to Tim Drake. So Dick will be stuck in the middle: a sidekick who grew up, then matured into the role of the hero only to get demoted back to second-class status. But at least he’ll have his old buddy Wally to commiserate with.

The All-American Exception

And then there’s James Buchanan Barnes, the one guy who got off easy. Well, as easy as a brainwashed cyborg Soviet super-spy kept on ice for several decades can have it. He got to take over his mentor’s role and when the mentor in question returned, he actually got to keep it! Instead of hitting the streets to look for a job, Bucky gets to keep on hitting bad guys and slinging the shield. He doesn’t have to be Captain America Jr. because Steve Rogers had the decency to take on a new role… at least, for the time being. We all know it won’t last though and sooner or later, Bucky will either be the new Nomad or he’ll be pushing up daisies. If it’s the latter, we at least hope that Bucky will have more dignity in (his second) death than guys like Dick Grayson or Wally West get in life.

Replacement Hero = Big Fat Zero

Being a replacement hero sucks. No matter how proud you might be, you amount to little more than that season of the Dukes of Hazzard where Bo and Luke were replaced by Coy and Vance. You’re a placeholder. No matter how much you might think you’ve made it to the big leagues, you’re still second rate. For every two steps forward, you take another two steps back.

But it’s probably still better than having to shave your legs every day.

In addition to writing Comicscape and contributing reviews and features to Mania, Chad Derdowski also takes part in the Zod Complex, an ongoing comics and geek culture podcast. Find them at ZodComplex.com. They’re awesome!