Top 10 Most Underrated Characters

Here's yet another meme I whipped up. This time of some of the most underrated characters who I know of. Now, as some of you may already know, I've made some fanart of some of these characters. And I've even talked a great deal about some of them as well. But I have yet to make some fanart of Jon Talbain because he's one of my favorite fictional wolves right next to Lupe and Johnny. So anyway, heres' what I've got so far.

10. Hotrod/Rodimus Prime: 
Making his debut appearance in 1986 in the animated classic "Transformers: The Movie", Hotrod (AKA Rodimus Prime) was originally voiced by Judd Nelson, who most people may know for his roles in movies like "The Breakfast Club", and "St. Elmo's Fire". Now, to be perfectly honest, The Breakfast Club was a pretty bland and mediocre film. Even for its time it was pretty generic. In the original Transformers movie, Rodimus Prime became the successor to Optimus Prime as the Autobot leader, and the next carrier of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. In my opinion, Judd Nelson was the perfect voice for Rodimus. At least back in the 80s when the movie first came out. Because he provided the character with an adequate and fitting voice; young, inexperienced, and somewhat immature. You know, just like your typical high-school kid. In season 3 of the original Transformers cartoon, which aired shortly after the movie's premiere, Rodimus was voiced by Richard Gautier, who also did the voice of Serpentor from "GI Joe: The Movie", which came out a year later in 1987. In my honest opinion, Richard Gautier was not a good voice for Rodimus Prime. He didn't have that same flair and charm to his voice that Judd Nelson had. Sadly, despite Rodimus's shining and defining moments in the original movie, he's has had very few appearances outside of the Generation 1 continuity. In fact, Rodimus is perhaps one of the most underrated characters in the Transformers universe. Two of his more recent appearances were in "Transformers: Energon" (which I hated), and in "Transformers Animated", a show which I personally have mixed feelings for. And sadly, the makers of Transformers Animated didn't do Rodimus any justice, and nor did they treat him with respect. His first and only appearance was in the episode called "Transwarped", where he was depicted as an archer. But sadly, he served absolutely no purpose in that show given that his appearance was very brief and short-lived. In fact, after about only a minute of screentime, he was killed off by Oil Slick. However, official sources say that he survived his ordeal even though it clearly looked like he was killed. But I find that hard to believe. Because we NEVER see him again after his one and only appearance. If you ask me, I think the sole purpose of Rodimus's appearance in that show was merely to troll Rodimus fans and to sell another toy. In fact, they made it pretty obvious that they hate Rodimus. And if this is how they treat him after more than 20 years of absence, then that's just shameful. Because Rodimus deserves better treatment than this. And for this reason, I prefer to remember his debut in the 1986 film. Besides, even Transformers Enegron treated him with more respect. Sadly, due to his status as an underrated character, we may never see Rodimus in action ever again. Thankfully, he is succeeded by Smokescreen in "Transformers Prime", which in my opinion is a much, much, MUCH better show. In my opinion, Smokescreen is a worthy successor for Rodimus.

9. Blurr:
Now this is a character who unfortunately has received the same treatment as Rodimus Prime. Along with Rodimus, Springer, Arcee, Kup, and Ultra Magnus, Blurr made his debut appearance in "Transformers: The Movie" as one of the new characters introduced to the franchise. He was voiced by John Moschitta Jr. who is well renown for his speedy speech. In fact, I guess you could think of Blurr as a predecessor to Rev Runner from Loonatics Unleashed, who like Blurr, was also a fast moving character with a fast speech pattern. He spoke so fast, that it was rather difficult to understand him let alone keep up with him. His alternate mode was a futuristic sports car that runs on hover engines rather than wheels. Blurr has even had appearances throughout the course of season 3 along with everybody else. But sadly, much like Rodimus Prime, Blurr is one of those characters who is always pushed aside and left in the shadows. In fact, his most recent appearance was in Transformers Animated, which again, is a show that I have mixed feelings for. In this show, he was once again voiced by John Moschitta Jr. after many years later. But he's had very few appearances in the show, and eventually, he was killed by Shockwave. And somehow I get the feeling that had TFA ran for another season, Blurr probably would have stayed dead. In fact, I'm pretty sure they did it to vent their hatred for Blurr. But at least he's had more screentime and development than Rodimus has ever gotten in the show. But that still doesn't take from my opinion that they both deserved better treatment than the kind they received. The least I can do is just hope and pray that Blurr and Rodimus will receive better treatment elsewhere. If that ever happens of course. But somehow I doubt it.

8. Springer:
This guy is yet another Autobot character who is often pushed aside and neglected despite his potential. In fact, Springer hasn't been seen since G1 ended. Which means he's had no other appearances outside of the original Transformers continuity. It just goes to show how much people really couldn't care less about him, which is sad. But anyway, let me explain. Like Rodimus Prime and Blurr, Springer made his first appearance in the original Transformers movie as one of the new comers who was not previously seen in the first two seasons of the original cartoon. He was voiced by Neil Ross, who also did the voice of Keith from Voltron, and Herc Armstrong from Inhumanoids. What makes Springer so special is that he had two alternate forms; a helicopter, and a military car, which bares a vague resemblance to the Batmobile from the 1989 Batman film. Springer was also an excellent swordsman, even though his sword shattered easily against Wreck-Gar's more powerful halberd like weapon. But still, Springer was an overall solid character. And it puzzles me why Hasbro continues to neglect him along with Rodimus, Blurr, and Kup. I mean seriously, they've given plenty of attention to Arcee and Ultra-Magnus as it is. So this only raises the question, if Arcee and Ultra-Magnus could receive some love and attention, then why not do the same for Rodimus, Blurr, and Kup? If you ask me, it's all about favoritism; people choose which characters they want to shed some light on and which ones they'd rather leave in the shadows. But I guess in Springer's case, maybe it's a good thing that he never had any other appearances. Because I'm fearful to imagine what the makers of Transformers Animated would have done if they ever touched upon him. And considering how they mistreated Rodimus and Blurr, I can't say I'd expect them to be any different with Springer.

7. Jon Talbain:
Oh boy. Where do I begin with this guy? Well, I guess I should start off with how he became to be. Known as "Gallon" in Japan, Jon Talbain is a British werewolf with blue and white fur. He wears purple trousers and a yellow belt. Not exactly original, but hey, it sure beats the typical shredded pants look. Because seriously, shredded pants are incredibly generic and overused. So in Jon Talbain's defense, his fashion sense is definitely saying something. Jon Talbain made his first appearance in 1994 with the release of the first Dark Stalkers arcade game. The game was made by Capcom, the same company that gave us Megaman, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Strider Hiryu. The game plays very similarly to Street Fighter Alpha in which players can execute special attacks along with high hitting combos and super attacks. Talbain's fighting style is a mix between feral instincts and martial arts. He is said to be an expert in Kung-Fu, though which style he practices is unknown since there's many different styles. He often uses a pair of nunchaku as his weapon of choice. It is believed that Talbain was partly inspired by Bruce Lee, which could explain his fashion sense and his weapon of choice. In fact, it's even stated that he practices the same style that Bruce Lee developed; Jeet Kune Do. A lot like Wolverine, Talbain is a bit of a loner who comes off as somewhat aloof and antisocial, meaning he prefers to be alone. It is hinted that he probably has somewhat of a romantic relationship with Felicia. Jon Talbain has not only appeared in his respective series, but he's also appeared in the American Dark Stalkers cartoon which came back in 1995, and the OVA series which came out in 1997. He has even had appearances in the UDON comics as well. Sadly, much like Megaman X, Talbain is one of those characters who Capcom continues to push aside and ignore over and over again. Why they continue to neglect him is a mystery to me seeing how he has a huge and loyal fanbase who praises and rates him highly. In fact, Talbain was voted by fans to be in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. But does Capcom care about what the fans want? No. Obviously not. It's only money they care about. And if that wasn't bad enough, they added him only as a skin for Amaterasu, the same bullshit they pulled with X being only a skin for Zero. I mean seriously, what is it with Capcom these days?

6. Lupe:
Now this is a character who I've shown a lot of love and attention to in the last few short years I've been on DA. In fact, there's tons of fanart works of her in my gallery in case anybody's interested in seeing them. But anyway, back to the subject at hand. Lupe made her first appearance in 1994 in the Sonic SatAM episode "Cry of the Wolf", where she was voiced by Shari Belafonte. She is the leader of the Wolfpack Freedom Fighters. And she has a wonderful voice. Now, you might ask, what is it about Lupe that just turns me on? Well, to put it in literal terms, I love everything about her. She's beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, and I love her hairdo and fashion sense. Seriously, her blue bodysuit, sandals, and golden wrist cuffs has a nice retro sort of charm to it. But that's not the only thing I love about Lupe. She also has a likable and relatable personality. She's a very kind, compassionate, sensitive, and motherly person, and she tends to act as a mother figure even towards those who are not directly related to her by blood. But she is also serious, strict, direct, and strong-willed when she needs to be. In fact, Lupe reminds me a lot of my mother and my sister because they're a lot like her in many ways. Not only is Lupe an adequate and capable leader and mother figure, but she is also wise and strategic. She also has a handsome husband named Lobo, and two legitimate children. Namely, their son and daughter Marcos and Maria. Lupe also has two adopted daughters named Ariel and Athena. So as you can see, Lupe is a very special character in my opinion, even though Archie Comics continues to neglect her and push her aside. And that's one thing that I always noticed in the comics. They had so many chances to develop Lupe and to give her some importance in her appearances. But sadly, Archie Comics never makes an effort to develop the Wolfpack. They just keep shoving them into the background. So basically, Lupe and her team serve absolutely no purpose in any of their appearances, even though they're are long time allies to the main stars, the Knothole team. They're around some of the time, but they really aren't that important. Lupe and her team have an interesting backstory. In Cry of the Wolf, Lupe was revealed to have a father (unnamed), who briefly appeared in a flashback scene. But I think what would really make Lupe's story interesting besides her background is her personal grudge against Drago, the ex-Wolfpack member and traitor. From how I see it, Drago would be the perfect rival for Lupe. In fact, I can see their feud being similar to that of Batman and the Joker in which Drago has an obsession towards Lupe, and he respects her for her strong-will, courage, and determination. But that's not going to stop him from trying to have his way with her. But bottom line, Lupe and her team deserve more attention than they've been getting. Seriously, this bullshit that Archie keeps pulling off has gotten old.

5. Marcos:
This playful, energetic, and somewhat naughty boy is Lupe's son. A lot like Lobo, Drago, Lyco, and Leeta, Marcos did not appear in Sonic SatAM. In fact, he wasn't given an appearance until much later on in the comics after SatAM ended. His first appearance was in Archie Sonic Super Special Issue #11, where Lupe discovered that her husband and children were roboticized by Uncle Chuck, a relative of Sonic. And Lupe soon shared the same fate as the rest of her family. But later on in the series, they were returned to being flesh and blood again, and were reunited with their fellow pack members. Marcos is said to be the oldest of Lupe's children. Which means that he's probably the one who assumes leadership, or at least tries to. Marcos has a sister named Maria, and two adopted sisters named Ariel and Athena. Like most of the Wolfpack, he has a somewhat questionable but tasteful fashion sense. He wears what appears to be a blue and white spandex bodysuit with golden trims, blue wrist cuffs, and boots rather than sandals. His hairdo reminds me a lot of John Connor as he appeared in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Now, what drew me to this character is his sheer cuteness and his somewhat mischievous and naughty personality. From what I've gotten, Marcos seems to be the kind of person who would come off as somewhat cocky, overconfident, and arrogant, but still retaining a good heart towards those who he loves and cares about. He often argues and fights with his siblings, and seems always trying to impose his authority being that he's the older brother. Sadly, much like Lupe and the rest of the Wolfpack, he serves absolutely no purpose in any of his appearances. I'm not sure when the Wolfpack's next appearance will be because I really have no clue. But if they do make another appearance, I can't say I expect Archie Comics to treat them any differently than they have for the past few years. However, in the fanfiction series that Dcaldwell and I are doing, the Wolfpack are given some importance and development, and they interact with some of the other characters instead of always being part of the background. And not only that, but Marcos and his sister play an important role as well. At least in our stories. I can imagine his voice being Brad Swaile.

4. Megaman X:
As we all know, Megaman X is yet another character who is always pushed aside and left in the darkness. In fact, he receives the same treatment as Rodimus Prime, Jon Talbain, and Lupe. And at first I found it shocking that Capcom would resort to this kind of practice, and this upset me to no end. But since they've done it so many times before in the past, this doesn't surprise me anymore. But it still upsets me because like I said many times before, Megaman X has a lot of potential. But as it would seem, Capcom doesn't care about his potential, so they threw it to waste time and time again. Megaman X is always pushed aside in favor of Zero. Nothing against Zero, but its another thing entirely to continually push one thing aside in favor of the other and to do it over and over again. In fact, that's the same bullshit that they pull with Jon Talbain from Dark Stalkers, which I already mentioned. But seriously, X has not only a tolerable personality and an interesting backstory, but he has so many powers and capabilities. And on top of that, he's donned so many different suits of armor that enhanced his abilities. I don't care what excuses Capcom makes, and I don't care what other people say to back up their excuses. Because I simply cannot and will not accept any of Capcom's excuses. They've had so many chances, and they blew each and every one of them. But as I digress from my dramatic episode there, I'm glad to say that after almost 20 years of waiting, Megaman X is finally getting a chance to shine in the spotlight. And by that I mean that he's going to appear along with Zero in a game called "Project X Zone", and he will also be getting his own comic book series which will be released sometime in 2014. The comics are being distributed by Archie Comics, same company behind the Sonic the Hedgehog Comics. And well, after all the setbacks, delays, trolling, and excuses that Capcom has pulled, I'm at least grateful that there's something to look forward to. And this has also given me the impression that there may still be hope for Megaman. Because like I said, there's no excuse. It's been nearly 20 years since the first MMX game was released in America. And after such a long time, I believe its time that the franchise receives the treatment that it deserves, so it's not just going to fade into obscurity. My hopes for this are high now.

3. Captain Sabertooth:
I've drawn this guy a few times before in the past, and I even added him in one of my earlier memes. For those of you who don't know who this guy is, allow me to explain. This guy is Captain Sabertooth, a villain from the 80s cartoon series known as "Dinosaucers". True to his name he was a sabertooth tiger. He was unusually tall, but like most fictional characters at the time, he had a questionable but likable fashion sense. He wears a yellow headband, a black and yellow cape, brown gloves and boots, chest armor with spiked shoulder guards, and a belted black speedo with a skull buckle. However, despite his high ranking status as the "Captain" of the Sabertooth Pirates, he only had one subordinate serving him. Namely, Smilin' Don, his dopey, clumsy, and goofy sidekick who seems to be on par with Ankylo, who was Genghis Rex's assistant. What I loved about Captain Sabertooth is that he was downright evil. He was absolutely bad to the bone. And not only that, but he was also a pirate, so he was also very greedy and crazy over gold and jewels. The only thing I disliked about him was his screechy parrot like voice. I'm not sure who his voice actor was. But even for 1987, that was NOT the right voice for him. If this guy where to appear in a new Dinosaucers show, I think Scott McNeil would do the character more justice. Believe me, he would provide Captain Sabertooth with a MUCH better voice if he had the chance. Sadly, a lot like Snake from "Golgo 13: The Professional", Captain Sabertooth was a one shot character. He has only appeared in a single episode in the entire series. And he was never seen again since then. Oh well, he still has a special place in my heart even after many years later.

2. Saban Wolf:
Oh yeah, I've done plenty of fanart of this guy. So I guess he needs no introduction. But just for the sake of filling in this section, I'm going to go over him anyway. Or, if you choose to move onto the next paragraph, be my guest. So anyway, this nameless character is one of the many different anime incarnations of the Big Bad Wolf, who is typically the villain in ancient fairy tales. A lot like Captain Sabertooth from Dinosaucers, this guy was a one shot character. He has only appeared in a single episode of this particular anime TV series known as "Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics" (Gurimmu Meisaku Gekijou) which aired in Japan and the United States in 1987. His first and only appearance was in the episode based on the story of "Little Red Riding Hood", which originally aired on November 18th, 1987. And as you've have guessed, his main purpose was to go after the titular character Little Red Riding Hood, who in this show looked like a cabbage patch doll. Now, as you all probably already know (because I've said this many times before), I never saw this guy as a true villain. I saw him more as a misunderstood character who was only driven by his desire to satisfy his hunger. Now putting myself in his shoes, I can understand what it means to be desperate and hungry. But he let his blind state of hunger get the best of him, which of course ended up costing him. In fact, if you're familiar with the story of Little Red Riding Hood, then the story ends pretty much the way you imagine it would. The wolf acts on his desire to feed, he eats the little girl and her grandmother, the hunter comes along, cuts open the wolf's stomach, frees the two, and then the poor wolf gets stuffed with rocks, and is condemned to a slow and agonizing fate. Of course, it's unknown as to whether or not the wolf died from his fall. Some people say that he survived his ordeal, but others speculate that he was dead by the time he hit the ground. Now, being a fan of this guy, I'd like to think that he survived. Because in realistic terms, he wouldn't have died right away after being stuffed with rocks. It would take time for him to finally succumb to the pain before he dies. In other words, his death would have been slow and painful. So chances are, he might have survived his fall, but probably died later on. We'll never know for sure. In recent years, the character was given better treatment in the form of fanfiction. Most notably in the stories that I wrote just a few years ago. In my own retelling of the story, the wolf's name is "Johnny", and I've given him a tragic backstory along with a more sympathetic personality. So I guess you could say that I created my very own version of the wolf to some degree. And not only that, but in the sequel to my story, Johnny's Choice, I revealed that he had a loving and caring mother who was killed, and an evil brother named Trevor. And very soon, I'll have the third chapter ready, which will mark the first appearance of Uncle Wolfgang. The death of Johnny's mother was based on my own personal experiences, though some people say that it's similar to the death of Bambi's mother. His brother Trevor was inspired by what the wolf said to the girl about him having a "Big Bad Brother". While Uncle Wolfgang was inspired by what the wolf said about having an uncle who went by that name. The character is mentioned, but never seen anywhere in the show. But he was eventually developed by me and SilverZeo many years later. And he will play an important role in the upcoming chapter in my stories.

1. Crunch Bandicoot:
Oh boy. Where do I begin with this guy? Well, like all the others, Crunch Bandicoot is another example of a character who had so much potential, but was thrown to waste. Yes, this is another one of those cases where they didn't care about potential, and just continually pushed aside characters in favor of the more popular and well known characters. Crunch Bandicoot made his first appearance in 2001 with the release of "Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex", which was the fourth game in the Crash Bandicoot series. The game was released for the Playstation 2. Crunch was originally voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, the same actor who voiced Exile from Road Rovers, and Bulkhead from Transformers Prime. But Crunch has had a variety of different actors playing his voice through the course of time. But none of them stood out for me as much as Richardson's performance. In my opinion, Richardson was the perfect voice for Crunch. He made him sound very manly and masculine, which I think is quite appropriate for him. He is a genetically enhanced anthropomorphic bandicoot with an incredibly muscular body. He wears camouflage pants and combat boots, and he also has a cybernetic arm much like Parvo from Road Rovers. Originally, Crunch was a villain who served Dr. Cortex, the main antagonist of the series. But after Crash defeated him, Crunch had a change of heart. And as a result, he turned on Dr. Cortex, and sided with Crash. Since then, he became a big brother figure to Crash and Coco, and they've come to love him as family. When Crunch was under Cortex's control, he had control over several elements including Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. In fact, this really convinced me of Crunch's potential, and this was a tiny sample of what he was capable of. But again, Crunch's potential was ignored, and thrown to waste. Just like Rodimus, Megaman X, Lupe, Jon Talbain, and even Blitz. From how I see it, he had potential, but it was never explored or expanded. And worse, the franchise seems to be dead. And that's a crying shame.  

All these images belong to their respective owners. I own nothing.