Five-Man Band/Comic Books: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:original_xmen.jpg|link=X-Men (Comic Book)|frame|Can you guess which is which? <ref>pictured: [[The Lancer|Angel]], [[The Smart Guy|Iceman]], [[The Hero|Cyclops]], [[The Big Guy|The Beast]], and [[The Chick|Marvel Girl]]. You could shuffle the roles around a bit if you wanted, but they definitely fit.</ref>]]

 

The [[Five-Man Band]] is a group of characters whose members fall into archetypes which all complement one another. They are a very specific team with skills that contribute to the group in a unique way. Here are some places where the trope occurs in comic books:

 

== Avengers ==

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||[[The Mighty Thor|Thor]]

|-

|-

|[[The Smart Guy]]||[[Ant-Man]]

|-

|-

|[[The Chick]]||[[The Wasp|Wasp]]

|-

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|-

|-

|[[The Smart Guy]]||Hank Pym... even when he's Giant Man

|-

|[[The Chick]]||The Wasp

|}

 

''[[Heroic Age (comics)|Heroic Age]] Avengers''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Captain America

|[[The Big Guy]]||Thor

|-

|-

|[[Kid Appeal Character]]||[[Spider-Man]]

|}

 

''Avengers Academy Teaching Staff''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Justice

|}

 

''Mighty Avengers''

|-

|-

|[[The Lancer|The Lancer(s)]]||[[Ares (Comic Book)|Ares]] and [[Black Widow (comics)|Black Widow]]

|}

 

''Post [[Secret Invasion]] Mighty Avengers''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Wasp (Henry Pym)

|}

 

''Original New Avengers''

|-

|-

|[[The Lancer|The Lancer(s)]]||[[Spider-Man]] and [[Wolverine]]

|-

|-

|[[The Big Guy]]||[[Luke Cage, Hero for Hire]]

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Luke Cage

|}

 

''Post Secret Invasion New Avengers''

|-

|[[The Hero|The Hero(es)]]||Ronin and New Captain America

|}

 

''[[Heroic Age (comics)|Heroic Age]] New Avengers''

|-

|[[The Hero]] ||Luke Cage

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Throg (Frog of Thunder)

|}

 

''Secret Avengers''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Steve Rogers

|[[The Smart Guy]]||Beast

|-

|-

|[[The Chick]]||Agent 13

== X-Men and all related teams ==

 

''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' (original lineup)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Cyclops

|}

 

The "All-New, All-Different" ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Cyclops

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Cyclops

|}

 

''Astonishing X-Men''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Cyclops

|}

 

''Post [[House of M]] New X-Men''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Surge

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[Big Good]]||Valerie Cooper

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Multiple Man

|-

|[[Sixth Ranger|The Sixth Ranger]]||Longshot

|}

 

''[[X-Force]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Wolverine

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Wolverine

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||The Orphan/Mr. Sensitive, Zeitgeist (originally)

|-

|[[Team Pet]]||Doop (It's not exactly clear ''what'' he is, precisely, but what ''is'' known is that he can go toe-to-toe with Thor and speaks his own language (with its own unique alphabet) and looks like a flying potato with arms.)

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Hope Summers

 

== Archie Comics ==

''[[Archie Comics]]'': The main group:

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Archie Andrews

|}

 

''[[Archie Comics]]'': The whole gang:

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Archie Andrews

|}

 

''[[Archie Comics]]'': When it's just the girls:

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Betty Cooper

|}

 

''[[Archie Comics]]'': Riverdale High's faculty:

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Mr. Weatherbee

|}

 

''[[Josie and the Pussy Cats]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Josie Jones

|}

 

''[[Josie and the Pussy Cats|She's Josie]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Josie Jones

|}

 

''[[Katy Keene]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Katy Keene

|}

 

''Li'l Jinx''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Jinx Holliday

|}

 

''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Comic Book)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Sabrina Spellman

''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog]]'':

 

Things have changed over time. From issue #3:

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Sonic the Hedgehog

Things evolved with character development to #177, when spinal injuries forced Rotor from active duty:

 

''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' (from issue #177)

|-

|[[Big Good]]||Princess Sally, who doubles as [[The Smart Guy]]

<nowiki>*</nowiki> The Chaotix in the [[Archie Comics]] are similar to the Fleetway version sans Mentor and sans Sonic.

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Bingo Wilkin

|}

 

''Wilbur Comics''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Wilbur Wilkin

|-

|[[The Chick]]||Laurie Lake

 

 

''[[Agents of Atlas]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Jimmy Woo

|}

 

''Annihilators''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Quasar

|}

 

''Dirty Half-Dozen'' from Annihilation: Conquest

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Peter Quill (the jaded ex-superhero)

|}

 

''The Atomic Knights''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Gardner Grayle: Leader of the Atomic Knights

|}

 

''[[The Authority]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawskmoor (after her death), later Jenny Quantum (which is also [[Sixth Ranger]])

|}

 

''[[Batman|Batman Family]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Batman

|}

 

''[[Birds of Prey]]'' (classic)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||[[Black Canary]]

|}

 

''[[Birds of Prey]]'' (new series)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Black Canary

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Thorn Harvestar

|}

 

''[[The Boys]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Billy Butcher

 

 

''The Challengers of the Unknown''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Ace Morgan

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]] / [[The Big Guy]]||Robotman

|}

 

''[[Doom Patrol]]'' ([[Grant Morrison]] lineup)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Robotman/Cliff Steele

|}

 

''The Doom Patrol (2003)''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Robotman

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Slingshot

 

 

''[[Dynamo 5]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Supervision (formerly Scrap)

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero|The Hero(es)]]||Boy Blue and Flycatcher

|}

 

''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Varies by story (usually Mr. Fantastic)

|}

 

''[[The Filth]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Ned Slade

|}

 

[[Jack Kirby]]'s ''Forever People''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Mark Moonrider

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Note: Quiet, sensitive, innocent, emotional Serafin is such a [[The Chick|Chick]] that he'd be ''unequivocally'' [[The Chick]] if psychic, illusionist, female perpetual kidnapee Beautiful Dreamer wasn't even ''more'' [[The Chick]].

 

''First [[Secret Invasion|God]] [[The Incredible Hercules|Squad]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Hercules

|}

 

''Second God Squad''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Hercules

|}

 

''[[Get Fuzzy]] (Only in one story arc, but)''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Bucky Katt

|}

 

''[[Green Lantern]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Hal Jordan

|}

 

Alternatively:

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Hal Jordan

|}

 

And during ''[[Blackest Night]]'':

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Hal Jordan

<nowiki>*</nowiki> The [[GL Green Lantern Corps/Characters|Green Lantern Corps]] premise is [[The Chosen Many]]: There are 3600-7200 Green Lanterns in the Galaxy as a whole. ''Earth alone'' has enough GLs to make a [[Five-Man Band]] of their own.

 

''[[Hellboy (comics)|Hellboy]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Hellboy (of course)

|}

 

''Heroes For Hire''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Misty Knight

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||King Mob (also [[Mentor Archetype|The Mentor]])

|}

 

''[[Justice League of America|JLA]]: [[Post-Crisis|Year One]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||[[The Flash]]

|[[The Lancer]]||[[Green Lantern]]

|-

|-

|[[The Smart Guy]]||[[Martian Manhunter]]

|}

 

''[[Justice League of America|JLA]]-- Classic Big Seven''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||[[Superman]]

|}

 

''[[Justice League International|Justice League Europe]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||[[Captain Atom]]

|}

 

''[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Bob Herzog (Using the term loosely)

|}

 

''[[Knights of the Old Republic (Comic Book)|Knights of the Old Republic]]'' (the comic spin-off, not the games)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Zayne Carrick

|}

 

''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' (comic version)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Mina Harker

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Cosmic Boy

|}

 

''[[Livewires]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Stem Cell (Despite being the team's resident tech specialist)

|}

 

''Lullaby''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Alice of Wonderland (A jaded warrior from another world and the hand of the Queen)

|}

 

''[[Metal Men|The Metal Men]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Gold

''[[Guardians of the Galaxy|Modern Guardians Of The Galaxy]]''

 

''First Team''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Star Lord

|[[The Big Guy]]||Drax, Gamora (is a Big Girl)

|-

|-

|[[Team Pet]]||Rocket Racoon

|}

 

''Second Team''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Rocket Racoon

|}

 

And later these two variations merged, creating something between a [[Five-Man Band]] and a [[Command Roster]]:

|-

|[[The Hero|The Hero(es)]]||Star Lord, Major Victory

 

 

''The Omega Men'' (original lineup)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Primus

|}

 

''Planetary''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Elijah Snow

|}

 

''[[Power Pack]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Alex Power

|}

 

''[[Pride High]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Kid Mischief

|}

 

''[[Runaways]]'' (at any point after the first arc)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Nico Minoru

|}

 

''Heroes For Hire''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Misty Knight

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Dream

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Dream

|}

 

''[[Scare Tactics (comics)|Scare Tactics]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Fang

|}

 

''[[Secret Six]]'' (''Villains United'' incarnation)

|-

|[[The Hero]]/ [[The Smart Guy]]||Scandal

|}

 

''[[Secret Six]]'' (current incarnation)

|-

|[[The Hero]]/ [[The Smart Guy]]||Scandal

|}

 

[[Seven Soldiers]] ([[Grant Morrison]] version). {{spoiler|Yes, they almost never meet, but if they did...}}

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Shining Knight, as [[Knight in Shining Armour|classic an example]] as you can get.

|}

 

''Shadowpact''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Nightmaster (Initially), then Blue Devil (stepped up)

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Sonic the Hedgehog

|}

 

This dynamic also applies to the Chaotix Crew when they're teamed with either Sonic or Knuckles:

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Fox [McCloud]

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Quinlan Vos

|}

 

''[[The Stuff of Legend]]'': Stretched to Eight Man Band, go figure.

|-

|[[The Hero]]||The Colonel

|}

 

''[[Supreme Power]]''

|-

|-

|[[The Lancer]]||Nighthawk ([[Darker and Edgier]] than any of the others. Has a huge problem with Hyperion.)

|}

 

''Founding [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]''

|-

|-

|[[The Lancer]]||Aqualad

|}

 

''80's [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Robin/Nightwing

|}

 

''Pre-Flashpoint [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] (keep in mind they're constantly changing)''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Robin (Also doubles as [[The Smart Guy|Smart Guy]])

|}

 

''[[New 52]] [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]''

|-

|-

|[[The Lancer]]||Kid Flash

|}

 

''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage]]'' (started out as a comic)

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Leonardo

|}

 

''[[Tintin]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Tintin

|}

 

''Terra Obscura''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||The Magnet

|}

 

''Terra Obscura (Volume II)''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Dr. Tom Strange (he's the viewpoint character this time around)

|}

 

''post Civil War Thunderbolts''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Songbird

|}

 

''Tom Strong''

|-

|[[The Hero]] / [[The Smart Guy]]||Tom Strong

|}

 

''Tom Strong and America's Best''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Tom Strong

|}

 

''Top 10''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Sgt. Kemlo Caesar (he's essentially the leader)

|}

 

''[[Ultimate X-Men]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Cyclops

|}

 

''Original Wilds C.A.T.S''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Spratan, Lord Emp (who's also a [[Mentor Archetype|Mentor]])

|}

 

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Will

|}

 

''[[Young Avengers]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Patriot

|}

 

''[[Young Justice (comics)|Young Justice]]''

|-

|[[The Hero]]||Robin

|}