Comic Book spotlight: Multiple Man could be a TV star

Multiple Man is an underrated gem in Marvel Comics. He has the potential to be another popular comic book TV star and here’s why.

There are certain comic book characters that have made their way into pop culture and become iconic. Heroes like Superman and Batman and villains like Joker and Magneto are among the most popular comic book characters of all time.

However, there are also plenty of unsung heroes. Ones that aren’t well-known by the general public like Mephisto and Lady Deathstrike, and even though they aren’t that well-known, they still have a lot of potential.

On that note, the X-Men have a family member that has more promise than people realize. That hero is Jamie Madrox a.k.a. The Multiple Man.

We only got a quick look at Jamie Madrox in X-Men: The Last Stand. In that short time we saw a couple of things. First, his superpowers: Madrox has the ability to create duplicates of himself (more on that later). Second, Madrox a wise @$$: He isn’t on the level that Deadpool and Spider-Man are, but he can hold his own when it comes to sarcasm. But his sarcasm isn’t the best part of his personality. He has layers that some of your favorite characters don’t, and all of them make him a great choice for a TV show star.

During his mini-series Madrox: Multiple Choice (written by Peter David and art by Pablo Raimondi) his powers were really explored. Madrox’s duplicates (dupes) come out as different aspects of his personality. Not only that, they come out at random. He doesn’t choose which one he produces. Which isn’t a good thing. He may need a dupe that cooperates and end up with the aspect of his personality that hates himself. However, we do find out that when the chips are down, his dupes will work with him. So there’s at least that.

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Maybe the coolest part is how he’s become so smart and skilled. Madrox started sending his dupes all around the world to learn everything from languages to martial arts. There was a story where they were fighting supernatural beings and Madrox had an answer to one of the problems. How? Because one of his dupes worked on the set of CW’s Supernatural.

All the abilities he has acquired have helped him become more attuned with himself. His time as a monk gave him the ability to pull his dupes in from a distance, instead of having to physically pull them in. A major disadvantage is what these powers have done to his mind.

Because he can see every option, Madrox finds it difficult to make decisions. Why go in one direction when you can go in all of them? In one issue, he couldn’t decide if he wanted to go out or stay in. He sent two duplicates to go out to have fun for him. When he reabsorbed them, he gained their memories. For him, it was like going out.

However, this can also work against him. If he absorbs a dupe that’s hurt, or poisoned, he absorbs that pain and poison. He’s stated that absorbing a dying dupe is like dying himself.

It’s a shame that we only got that small sample of Madrox in X-Men: The Last Stand. He could have been Magneto’s army by himself. That would have been a sight to see: Madrox just constantly sending out dupes that are making jokes while fighting. Instead, we got a few cool characters and some random forgettable goons. That said, this could end up working in his favor, because if he remains somewhat unknown, viewers would go into a project with Madrox not knowing what to expect.

Most important, Jamie Madrox is an entertaining character. He’s funny, self-deprecating, but a good leader. When things get bad, he puts his insecurities to the side and leads his team. Madrox being a detective that loves film noir adds another element, because people love mysteries.

It wouldn’t have to be as violent or explicit as some shows. It should be something everyone can enjoy. Plus, Madrox isn’t a overly violent character. He’s had violent moments, but he’s not Wolverine.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard any news from the James Franco project. Now, this could end up like the Gambit movie (that’s never going to happen), but hopefully someone at Marvel will see the potential in a Multiple Man detective show.

A show like this wouldn’t just be a welcome addition to Marvel’s TV line-up, it would also be a good way of introducing different and sometimes obscure X-Men characters into the MCU. Seriously, nothing about this show sounds like a bad idea.

What do you think? Would you watch a Multiple Man show? Let us know in the comments below.