I don’t think comic fans fully appreciate how popular and useful supporting characters are in comic book stories. Supporting characters like Aunt May, Perry White, Nick Fury, or J. Jonah Jameson are well known to fans, even if they don’t have superpowers. However, comic book publishers always love subverting the status quo of their comics. There have been many instances over the decades where supporting characters have been given powers to become their own superheroes.
Here are eight times where supporting characters took the spotlight and became major comic book superheroes.
1. Jim Gordon Becomes Batman
After the 2014 storyline, Batman: Endgame, the world believed that Batman and the Joker were dead. A corporation known as Powers Tech would then finance the creation of a Batman-style armor with antenna ears for the Gotham P.D. to use. Jim Gordon would become the operator. So, from 2015 to 2016, Jim Gordon, one of the most famous supporting characters ever, became the main superhero in the Batman comics for a year.
Gordon wore an anime-style Bat-armor to fight crime as the new Batman. He had funding from a corporation to maintain the suit and the backing of the mayor, and the G.C.P.D. Gordon’s first major villain was Mr. Bloom, who could genetically design flowers and plants to give people monstrous powers.
Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy is a 160-page hardcover that collects Batman #41 through #45 and DC Sneak Peek: Batman #1. This trade also includes the first appearance of Mr. Bloom in issue #43. Buy it now at Amazon for $11.49.
2. Mary Jane Becomes Jackpot
Mary Jane Watson is one of those famous supporting characters that everyone knows, even if they don’t read comics. She was known as the love interest, girlfriend, and wife of Peter Parker. The characters became infamous in 2007 for the One More Day storyline, where Mephisto dissolved their marriage and love in return for saving Aunt May.
In recent years, Mary Jane got lost in another dimension with a man named Paul. She and Paul would have two imaginary children and spend years together due to time dilation. While lost in that dimension, Paul would develop a gauntlet weapon for Mary Jane that would operate like a slot machine.
Every time Mary Jane uses the gauntlet, she gains a new superpower as if she were gambling. (get it? “Jackpot?”) After returning from the lost dimension and realizing her kids were not real, Mary Jane became the superhero Jackpot, which is a play on her catch phrase, “Face it, Tiger, you just hit Jackpot!” Mary Jane made her debut as Jackpot in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 in 2023.
3. Mary Jane Becomes The All-New Venom
Mary Jane’s tenure as Jackpot has not been very popular with fans. At the end of the recent Venom War storyline, Mary Jane temporarily bonds with Venom to help Spider-Man stop an ancient threat. Although Mary Jane would un-bond with the symbiote, the un-bonding was a fake-out. It would be shown later that the two now have an irrevocable bond.
If either Mary Jane or the Venom symbiote separates from the other, both will die. Mary Jane is now the antihero known as the All-New Venom. This creative decision has polarized comic book fans for its oddness and the belief that Marvel does not know what to do with Mary Jane.
4. Lois Lane Becomes Superwoman
Supporting characters like Lois Lane are known for being a reporter and Superman’s girlfriend or wife. In recent years, DC Comics has made strides in giving Lois her own agency as a superhero. In the aftermath of the 2024 DC Comics storyline Absolute Power, Lois Lane gained the powers of a Kryptonian, like Kal-El.
She is now the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet and operates as the superhero Superwoman. The character made her debut in Superman #19 and Superwoman Special #1.
5. Jane Foster, The Mighty Thor
Jane Foster made her debut as one of the supporting characters for Thor in Journey Into Mystery #84 in 1962. The character would not become The Mighty Thor until 2014. In the aftermath of the Original Sins storyline, Thor became unworthy and could no longer command Mjolnir.
Jane Foster, now slowly succumbing to terminal cancer, gains the right to command the powers of Thor. Even though Jane Foster became Thor in 2014, most casual comic book fans did not learn about this until 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
6. James Rhodes, War Machine
James Rhodes is one of the most popular Iron Man supporting characters. Rhodes made his debut in Iron Man #118 back in 1979. It was during this era that Marvel began their deconstruction of Tony Stark and made him an alcoholic. It was groundbreaking storytelling at the time.
Rhodes began temporarily subbing in as Iron Man beginning in 1983 in Iron Man #170. However, Rhodes only officially became his own hero, War Machine, in 1992 in Iron Man #282.
7. Pepper Potts Becomes Rescue
Virginia “Pepper” Potts is one of the oldest Iron Man supporting characters. Potts made her debut way back in Tales of Suspense #45 in 1963. Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan were a married couple who had to deal with the immature and impulsive antics of their playboy boss, Tony Stark. It was not until the advent of the MCU that Potts became the lover of Stark.
In 2009, Pepper Potts was injured by Ezekiel Stane. She finds an armor Stark built for her, the R.E.S.C.U.E. armor. She dons it to heal her injuries and become the hero Rescue. Rescue made her debut in the MCU film Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
8. Clea Becomes Sorcerer Supreme
Clea made her debut in Strange Tales #126 in 1964. She is a human-looking being from another dimension and the niece of Dormammu. Clea is a former disciple and student of Doctor Strange who would eventually become his lover and then wife.
In 2022, Doctor Strange would die temporarily in the comic books. Clea would succeed him and become the new Sorcerer Supreme for a time. Actress Charlize Theron would portray Clea in a short, post-credits scene in 2022’s Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.
When Supporting Characters Become Comic Book Heroes
It is important to remember that such character changes are not always permanent. For example, Commissioner Jim Gordon, Pepper Potts, and Mary Jane Watson generally did not become superheroes long-term. James Rhodes has been subbing for Iron Man since 1983 and has been War Machine since 1992, so it would be hard to just make him a powerless human again.
Don’t take such narrative changes to the character seriously as a fan. Comic book publishers switch up the status quo often in their stories. After decades of canon, sometimes it’s better to experiment with supporting characters than to keep them the same forever.
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