Would Casey Jones work as a stand-alone superhero?

*CyberCubed* · 10-02-2010, 08:15 AM

I know there have been some (a handful?) of Casey Jones solo issues, like the one with those alien crabs from Neptune, but I was wondering if the character has enough stamina to star in his own series.

What if Casey Jones was a DC or Marvel created character? A character who fights crime with his hockey mask and his sports equipment?

Would Casey Jones actually work in a separate series all by himself without any TMNT at all?

*DrSpengler* · 10-02-2010, 09:22 AM

I dunno, we never really got to see much of Casey in full-on vigilante mode to really gague how effective he was at fighting crime.

Once he met the Turtles, all he did from then on was pretty much just fight aliens, monsters and the Foot Clan to varying degrees of effectiveness (some times he could keep up, some times he was the bumbling comic relief).

I think he'd have solo potential if the writers ramped up his competence and skill level a few degrees. One of the pitfalls of being a supporting character is that you're often relagated to the aforementioned "comic relief" or "the guy who messes up and makes the conflict worse" or "the guy they gotta rescue" and so on.

In the few solos stories we have for Casey (just "North by Downeast" and "Muscle and Faith" come to mind, where he has no support from any Turtle characters), there's a glimmer of a standalone character in there, but without the foil of Raph or another Turtle at his side, he also feels a bit empty or just incomplete.

As for how interesting a Casey solo series would be and if Casey-himself is interesting enough to carry it?

Well, intellectually, Casey's a third grader, so we can't really expect him to think his way out of various dillemmas. Skill-wise, he has no technique and is primarily a "street brawler", which is cool, but he's very frequenly shown to be outmatched by anyone with a smidgen of martial arts training.

I really don't know if he'd make a very good or effective solo hero. He's more of a "team player", or at least one half of an effective duo.

Then, of course, for a solo series to work, you'd have to have a well-rounded cast of supporting characters. Since Casey has always been the "tagalong" to the Turtles, the Turtles wouldn't work in his book as supporting characters, so you'd have to come up with new ones who would be willing to tagalong at Casey's side as opposed to the other way around.

Personally? Casey's my favorite character, so of course I'd like to see him shed the Turtles more often and prove his competence as a solo character. But I dunno if he'd have what it takes to carry more than a mini or limited series. An ongoing would be a tough call.

*oldmanwinters* · 10-02-2010, 09:49 AM

Casey Jones as a regular stand-alone protagonist?

Off the top of my head, I'd say... nah.

After all, Casey is a loser.

*Powder* · 10-02-2010, 12:49 PM

I feel as Dr. Spengler does, but with more faith. Casey is my favorite character & I think if they beefed up his intelligence & skill just a little bit, he'd be a great solo character. Especially if his book was super violent. Bodycount sans raph, maybe.

*discordiatookie* · 10-02-2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

Skill-wise, he has no technique and is primarily a "street brawler", which is cool, but he's very frequenly shown to be outmatched by anyone with a smidgen of martial arts training.

Well, he did kick the Shredder's ass. Or midriff, if you prefer.

I reckon I would definitely pick up such a book. Tristan, and the 2k3 series, beefed up his story with Hun and the Purple Dragons. I'd see more of that, more flashbacks, less dumb, more vigilante with a vengeance type kicking about New York. As an ongoing? Nah, but as a mini series - say a dozen or so issues, maybe finishing up with him meeting Raph for the first time as the last page - now that would be awesome.

*Andrew NDB* · 10-02-2010, 01:59 PM

He could be a compelling protagonist with the right angle to an ongoing series. It'd just need to be more than, "Random vigilante fighting crime in the street."

*shuriken* · 10-02-2010, 03:01 PM

^^ This. Although he never really kicked Shredder's ass, he is a capable fighter, even though he does routinelel get his ass kicked by a villain or any of the TMNT. He'd be cool to see before he met the TMNT.

**Venom** · 10-02-2010, 09:25 PM

^ He still caught ol' Oroku Wormy off-guard and knocked him on his ass.

If Casey were approached in a dark manner ala Marvel Knights Punisher or Moon Knight, it may work. He would definitely have to be "calibrated" for solo adventures, so perhaps he drank some Oot Beer or ingested a sandwich that gave him the smarts.

A goofy-ass, dark comic with Casey bashing skulls. Cool.

10-02-2010, 08:15 AM	#1
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,774	Would Casey Jones work as a stand-alone superhero? I know there have been some (a handful?) of Casey Jones solo issues, like the one with those alien crabs from Neptune, but I was wondering if the character has enough stamina to star in his own series. What if Casey Jones was a DC or Marvel created character? A character who fights crime with his hockey mask and his sports equipment? Would Casey Jones actually work in a separate series all by himself without any TMNT at all?

10-02-2010, 09:49 AM	#3
oldmanwinters Overlord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Between yesterday and tomorrow! Posts: 15,473	Casey Jones as a regular stand-alone protagonist? Off the top of my head, I'd say... nah. After all, Casey is a loser. __________________ Experience the TMNT Fan Commentaries! Check out my TMNT fan comic, "Nothing to Fear"! View my sketch work! I'm selling some of my hard-to-find TMNT items!

10-02-2010, 01:59 PM	#6
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,361	He could be a compelling protagonist with the right angle to an ongoing series. It'd just need to be more than, "Random vigilante fighting crime in the street." __________________ [ ODYSSEY \| ORIGIN \| THE IMAGE/VOL. 3 CONCLUSION \| THE SHELLSHOCKED PODCAST \| ON FACEBOOK ]

10-02-2010, 03:01 PM	#7
shuriken Second City Shinobi Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chi-town Posts: 4,182	^^ This. Although he never really kicked Shredder's ass, he is a capable fighter, even though he does routinelel get his ass kicked by a villain or any of the TMNT. He'd be cool to see before he met the TMNT. __________________ Some things are better left unsaid. This isn't one of them

10-02-2010, 09:25 PM	#8
Venom Space Knight Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 3,637	^ He still caught ol' Oroku Wormy off-guard and knocked him on his ass. If Casey were approached in a dark manner ala Marvel Knights Punisher or Moon Knight, it may work. He would definitely have to be "calibrated" for solo adventures, so perhaps he drank some Oot Beer or ingested a sandwich that gave him the smarts. A goofy-ass, dark comic with Casey bashing skulls. Cool. __________________

10-02-2010, 09:22 AM	#2
DrSpengler Foot Elite Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 4,842	I dunno, we never really got to see much of Casey in full-on vigilante mode to really gague how effective he was at fighting crime. Once he met the Turtles, all he did from then on was pretty much just fight aliens, monsters and the Foot Clan to varying degrees of effectiveness (some times he could keep up, some times he was the bumbling comic relief). I think he'd have solo potential if the writers ramped up his competence and skill level a few degrees. One of the pitfalls of being a supporting character is that you're often relagated to the aforementioned "comic relief" or "the guy who messes up and makes the conflict worse" or "the guy they gotta rescue" and so on. In the few solos stories we have for Casey (just "North by Downeast" and "Muscle and Faith" come to mind, where he has no support from any Turtle characters), there's a glimmer of a standalone character in there, but without the foil of Raph or another Turtle at his side, he also feels a bit empty or just incomplete. As for how interesting a Casey solo series would be and if Casey-himself is interesting enough to carry it? Well, intellectually, Casey's a third grader, so we can't really expect him to think his way out of various dillemmas. Skill-wise, he has no technique and is primarily a "street brawler", which is cool, but he's very frequenly shown to be outmatched by anyone with a smidgen of martial arts training. I really don't know if he'd make a very good or effective solo hero. He's more of a "team player", or at least one half of an effective duo. Then, of course, for a solo series to work, you'd have to have a well-rounded cast of supporting characters. Since Casey has always been the "tagalong" to the Turtles, the Turtles wouldn't work in his book as supporting characters, so you'd have to come up with new ones who would be willing to tagalong at Casey's side as opposed to the other way around. Personally? Casey's my favorite character, so of course I'd like to see him shed the Turtles more often and prove his competence as a solo character. But I dunno if he'd have what it takes to carry more than a mini or limited series. An ongoing would be a tough call.

10-02-2010, 12:49 PM	#4
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,945	I feel as Dr. Spengler does, but with more faith. Casey is my favorite character & I think if they beefed up his intelligence & skill just a little bit, he'd be a great solo character. Especially if his book was super violent. Bodycount sans raph, maybe.