His powers are cool. He doesn't need to teleport himself. He could warp enemies away and directly to jail without even getting anyone hurt. That's pretty OP. And the concept of a character balancing life, school, work and super heroing is something DC doesn't do a lot.
DC doesn't let comics find their own audience anymore it takes a lot of time. Then again, Supersons was popular and sold well, and they killed off and ruined that, too. 😭 Rest in peace, 🏳️🌈 Kid Jon . That Aged Up Super Snore will never surpass you.
Honestly I wish that line of "Age of Heroes" continued. Silencer, Brimstone, Damage, and Sideways were a great addition to the DC universe for anybody who wasn't intimately familiar
I always felt like Sideways would’ve fit perfectly with Bat Family given the rogues gallery (like Spider-man) and the ability to do some cool stuff at night
Or they could've added him with duke and expand the day Gotham heroes at night Batman and at day.....making the bat family more in-depth and more unique members
Love seeing Sideways get some attention. The new comics that came out as part of this movement were interesting if only because they were all DC’s take on Marvel Characters (The Terrifics were the Fantastic 4, Damage was Hulk etc) but Sideways definitely had the potential to be a hit. Here’s hoping we get something in the future.
@@mttylerdurden9 Yes but no. There's a whole lore of a DC group that's basically like Squadron Supreme, since they're DC's Avengers, and both Squadron Supreme and this team were part of an "unofficial crossover" sort of thing.
I never actually sit and read comics. I usually get all the info from my friends or my cousin, since she goes through soooo many. Sideways is the only comic series i eagerly waited for and i was heartbroken when it was discontinued.
I really liked Sideways too. Yes, at first I thought, "oh he looks like Spider-Man", but also "Hey this is a cool power set. Great art too. This book is actually kinda fun!"
The sad thing is, I actually found a discarded Sideways comic and read through it, loved it, and realized they killed it. So sad. One of the first "new" comics I had read at the time.
I think "characters inspired to some extent by the competitor's character, but with enough twists and uniqueness to set it apart" is something that's been going on a lot between Marvel and DC, since... Well, basically since they started doing comics.
As a hardcore bonafide Spider-Man fan, I totally loved reading Sideways, and felt he would have been a great DC version of Spider-Man. Just enough similarity and nuance to make it something
Sideways is one of the first comic books I read from beginning to end. The growth Derek showed and still had to go was amazing and I’m still pissed it was never finished
Seems like a pretty cool character and IP. The Peter Parker archetype with a different power set is always cool to see. Also, using teleportation in creative ways is hella fun and hella deadly.
A while back ago I saw sideways, thought his design and powers were cool, but never really bothered to do a full deep-dive research on the character. And he seemed just obscure enough no one would really talk about him. But man am I glad to be wrong! Thanks for bringing a spotlight on the character! Really is a shame though we only got as much as we did though.
They already had a Peter Parker analogy in Ted Kord. Steve Ditko who co created Spider-Man and created Blue Beetle, stated that Ted was envisioned as an older successful Peter Parker
The Terrifics was great as well. I liked how it took 4 heroes who had nothing to do with one another and basically forced them to be a team. Seeing them go from strangers to having this family dynamic is pretty cool.
I'm so mad that they didn't make him more unique. I'm a big White Wolf fan, and in Werewolf: The Apocalypse "stepping sideways" means to cross the gauntlet into the shadowlands and I love seeing a character who can make portals named "Sideways". I sincerely hope this character returns one day, without all of the Spider-Man influences.
i think if they were to give him a new series now, he’d have so much potential to stand on his own. also, YES a TV adaptation would be PERFECT for Sideways!!
I would love for it to be animated, not to say that it would be bad if it was live action, because Star-Girl exists, but I just feel like it would work better that way and maybe it could be part of it's own universe with all the other New Age of Heroes characters
absolutely loved this guy and silencer! really hope he can get a good meaty run in a young justice/teen titans esque book to get some new fans, i think bendis proved he's worth having around if for no other purpose than as a convenient plot device for getting a bunch of people in one place at one time
So Sideways (luv the name btw) is basically a combination of TWO Marvel characters to make something new yet familiar. He’s basically the love child of Spider-Man & America Chavez. With Spider-Man’s fashion sense and most of America’s abilities except flight.
I personally like Sideways and I managed to buy two of his comics, they were actually my first comics I ever bought. I really hope they bring him back at some point. Edit: Since this video, I have managed to attain another Sideways comic. I really hope he makes a comeback.
Great video! Hopefully we get more of Sideways in the future. You were right when you mentioned the character has potential. That whole line of comics was decent and filled with potential. For example Curse of the Brimstone was a run that we really enjoyed with Sideways.
Wow, I feel ancient for understanding the “Who was phone?” joke. That aside, portals can be a really cool power when done right. A shame Sideways didn’t have a unique costume.
*Sideways is a really interesting character, and his story holds the reader, he has references to Spider-Man that are not even a copy, far from it in fact, he is just another teenager like many teenage heroes. I really wanted a sequel to his comics, I really fell in love with the character. I would like your comic to be released in my country (Brazil), but I'm pretty sure it never will be released because of your "failure".*
I was expecting a funny story about "Haha look at this time DC tried to rip off Spider-Man in the 80s" or something. I was not expecting to be mad that a comic I've never read never took off. This guy sounds so cool and based off this video sounds like he could hold his own solo cartoon for at least a season. Maybe more if the writers are willing to make stuff up and take risks.
2:54 Ironically when discussing a Spider-Man ripoff I couldn't help but get reminded of a Spider-Man villain... who is his joke villain that being Spot.
I actually own the entire Sideways run on physical. It was an interesting read, the character had a ton of potential to really grow into his own. Kept me coming back to my comic book store weekly, at least.
I always saw Sideways as more of a Nightcrawler type character, Drake. He has the exact same power set despite looking like Ben Riley drawing board leftover
I mean, his powers are Nightcrawler, but Sidaways isn't a mutant discriminated for having blue skin, born in Germany, son of a demon, an adult, and part of a team of mutants that fight against discrimination (and supervillains).
If you're looking for a mutant to match Sideways' powers to it'd be either Magick (her stepping disks, specifically), Manifold or Gateway. However, story wise they are NOTHING like Sideways.
I'm initially excited when Sideways comics come out because the idea of DC's version of Spiderman is pretty cool. But after it ended I knew it would get no further push and thus be another forgotten character. Glad this video exists and highlights some of Sideways potential
I was really upset when this character was released because I was playing around with the idea of a character that was inspired by Spiderman that used portals to traverse and fight. He couldn't teleport anywhere he wanted to tho because it was kind of a portal gun situation where he'd need line of fire to create the entrance and exit so in order to travel fast he would kinda just "fall" wherever he needed to go. I.E. jump off a building then create a portal that would point him in a safe direction until it was time to shoot more portals. He had a few other abilities like a spacial awareness perk because he obviously manipulates the space time continuum to a degree so why not be able to perceive all space immediately around you in slow motion. That and the beams to shoot portals could also be used as regular beams. I suppose that since it was based off one of the most popular super heroes ever, I can't say I'm that surprised but the degree in which it was similar to my idea really sent me. On top of that, my hero academia came around and that took out the rest of the characters I was working on considering all might was nearly a one to one copy of one of the main characters I was working on
What's sad and funny is DC already had it's own Spider-man counterpart, in Static Shock. He had a TV show so it was way more accessible, he has a very similar, yet alternative origin, and obviously abilities, to Spider-man. All the differences make it hit hard because it's then not a beaten ripp off of Spider-mans look and Style. Static moving more like magneto. There's so many other aspects, his villains, his Canon event, it's so wild that they never really did more with his character. Sideways is cool in a sense, but wish they didn't make his look that similar to spidey, as well poses, and they could have got us into him if they, like with Static, gave him his own show instead of comics.
I would love to see Sideways added to the Teen Titans someday. I think he’s a pretty great character and would benefit greatly from the bigger exposure being on that team would bring him. Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle would be great too.
Read this entire run a couple months ago, absolutely loved it. Still hoping for that Sideways tv show on HBO Max or a (couple of) Sideways movie(s). Hopefully this character gets the spotlight he needed to warrant another on-going comic run, because I loved it for the most part and there's still a lot of unresolved threads in the first comic run.
Genuinely thought he would be perfect for like an unlockable DC character in a lego game lmao. At least something to promote him or nudge DC to do more with him
All of the comic book publishers have created parallel characters. This includes Image and Dark Horse. Most of the publishers employ the same writers and artists.
Honestly my biggest take away with launching a new character is maybe don't give them a book out the gate. Back door pilot them to just be around established characters and give them a hook. Cool power, likeable character, big mystery, etc. Have you reader base be decently familiar before expecting them to stand on their own. I hope that Sideways will get a second life down the road and his initial run will be looked back on, but more often than not, it ends up being, "well this character is a dud" and they never even appear in the background. Sometimes coming out of the gate swinging works, just look at Kamala Khan, but she had the Captain Marvel association. Even Wolverine took a while to really take off
@@cthulhutheendless1587 he was semi antagonistic, the main bad guy was the Wendigo but he and Hulk did fight. Still, he was very different from the Wolverine we know today (wasn't even intended to have claws himself I believe, they were just in his gloves).
Kamala honestly gets hyped for the wrong reasons tho so not a good example. However Miles worked fine as a standout and they kept with it. DC could have kept with Sideways and not stopped
@@zraiarz9301 What are the wrong reasons? Her original book is a pretty solid book. To me it sounds like you didn’t like that people liked a comic about a middle eastern girl.
@@DrDinoNuggies you jumping to her being middle eastern from the start without me specifying any reason on why I said she was overhyped tells me all I need to know about you
Thanks for talking about this comic. I would have never even have known. I'm totally going to check it out, because it sounds interesting and I haven't read a DC comic in a while that I actually got into. Also... Totally agree with the sentiment about people who say "Don't eff with established heroes... Make your own" because this is exactly what happens.
I found it weird that out of the new Age of Heroes, Silencer and The Terrifics lasted... AWHILE. I remember when these were announced, released, their criticism, and their quick to passing deaths.
I have the whole run of Sideways actually. I got it when I was still new to following comics week to week. I also followed that Immortal Men book and thought both were fun, solid stories. I definitely think he has a lot of potential. Put him on a team or in a show and I think a lot of folks will resonate with him.
10:37 that reminds me of people who complained about milestone in the 90s, saying that because a majority of it's superheros we're black or other people of color, that it was "racist against white's".
I actually read sideways first issue like the year it came out and loved him. Something about a event that made some comics free on this official comic app (forgot what it was called) I was a broke kid so I couldn't afford to buy the rest online so I just forgot about him but man was I ready to become obsessed with him. Always wondered what happened to him, sad to see the story never got finished.
I do remember when this guy came out and it clearly was them trying to make Spider-Man. Here I was thinking Blue Beetle was basically DC’s own Spider-Man
@@scinnyc I think they're talking about Jaime Reyes rather than Ted Kord or Dan Garrett. He definitely fits into the mould of a spider-man-esque character
the problem with DC is that they are unable to keep things on a small scale. there is always must be other universes that need to be saved, some kind of deities that want to kill someone. what makes Spidey more memorable is that he is and forever will be a street-level superhero. him being in some kind of big event and not on the streets is a rare exception, not the other way around. and, of course, Sideways is thrown into some kind of intergalactic beef with some kind of team
I really wish this line caught on more. There was something that felt like the potential of a real new generation without the baggage of decades of legacy for new readers
I don't see Sideways as Spidey's ripoff, aside of being teen and almost similar look on suit(and the infamous twisted quote), they have different origin/background, personality and skill set. I like him as much as like Spidey and Batsy. Definitely in my top 10 of fave DC characters. I also like the other DC's New Age of Heroes entry, esp Silencer and The Terrifics.
I remember picking up and reading the Sideways series when it first came out. I think I'm missing the last two issues or so, but I can remember having mixed feelings on the book, despite being a teenager myself when it came out. I'll have to go back and read them again, cuz man that suit looked cool (says the very big Spidey fan boi)
I would say that the character's failure was more so due to comic book piracy. The book was quite popular at the time and people had so many good things to say about it. The issue is that it seemed that people weren't buying the book but rather reading it on websites that uploaded the comic books for free.
@@ComicDrake sigh, yea, he’s so feast or famine, I hear ya. If you want my suggestion. Try out “the Terrifics ” by Jeff Lemire if you haven’t already. This was all part of Dcs “new age of heroes” that low key seemed like Dc saying they could do marvels characters better. Terrifics was their fantastic four and went the longest and had amazing writing and art! If I remember during this era, they played around with putting the artists first on the credits of covers.
Sideways does seem interesting but, his powers sound very close to Vibe's. Interdimensional portals, dead family member, gets powers from unusual paranormal event. That's Vibe, right down to his Latino roots.
Honestly Sideways is my top 3 or 5 favorite character. I wish this series had more issues. It will definitely stay in the top 3 of recommendations for me. I absolutely love seeing him pop up at random since it shows someone at the company remembers him and I appreciate that.
@@rezonan3520 Ain't that the truth. One of the biggest things, I keep thinking about when it comes to Sideways is, him mapping out the dark multiverse and running into The Final Knight.
Wish you'd go over Green Lantern: New Guardians, as that series ended with a HUGE cliffhanger regarding the White Lantern Corps, that is NEVER referenced again.
How did this not work? This character has a lot of potential. The Spider-Man vibes are real and he could really use a bit more love. Also he would probably pair well with someone like Static.
Yes he would! Maybe not as like a duo but definitely for a crossover arc at least! They both seem to be trying to target the same demographic and have a sort of similar style to their brand of heroics too. Plus the potential for world ending combo with Static manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum with portal powers to fight some colossal big bad.
It worked, american comics ow just have a very very small number of readers that comic runs don't last for years like in the past. Even the most popular titles like X-men, Avengers, Superman, batman, etc. get a re-start every year or so or a change of writers/artists to ignite interest anew. Sideways lasted for 13 issues, that's about the average runs for those non-major titles today. Readers just can't get past the old times when titles run for years and years but that was when there were millions and millions of comic readers. Now, I doubt if there are even a million comic buyers and all of them restrict themselves to DC only, or marvel only, or independents only, or just their favorites. The bottomline is except for the major titles, all comics sales dwindle to about 15,000 to 20,000 after just a few issues...just about the cut-off for termination of the title.
I created that character as a kid! not literally obviously. but I once imagined a superhero with the same type of warp teleportation powers and a black Spider man inspired costume. He was a student who got sent to a dark dimension after a freak lab accident and came back with teleportation powers, since he was fan of Spider-Man, he designed a costume inspired by his and even had his girlfriend help him make the costume. And balanced studies, Super-heroics and trying to find his adoptive mother who had gone missing.
I really like the designs of all these characters. Colourful, visually clear, interesting to look at. I do think Sideways himself could have used a bit of a different design, maybe some portal esc features. I don’t run a comic company but I think what they should’ve done was launch heroes one at a time and make them the centre of attention for a bit. Have a sideways appear in a superman comic.
I remember hearing about Sideways years ago thanks to comicstorian. It seemed interesting as did Damage but I am sad neither got the chance to shine. Thanks for covering this Drake 😃
I remember I was reading one of the issues related to the Lazarus event and he showed up to help a hero called red canary. I’ve never heard of those two before but I found them very interesting and fun characters to read about. I didn’t know if they had their own run or not but after seeing this I hope they do more with them. And now Ill probably buy his run if it’s a trade paperback
Honestly seems to be an underrated character. yeah the Spider-Man inspiration is evident but it takes that and makes it it's own. they should definitely do more with the character, I don't understand why it was a failure.
Did you know that DC actually attempted to ripoff Spider Man back in the day? It was more subtle but when DC made Firestorm they saw the success of a teenager getting powers from a radioactive accident all the while going through school and teen drama and decided to cash in on it.
Seemed like a fun character. For what it's worth, DC has had at least a couple versions of Spider-Man over the years. Firestorm back in the 80's and Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle (an argument could be made for the Ted Kord Blue Beetle as well).
Even though a lot of Sideways came from Spidey, this comic really interests me especially with the unfound in DC teenager's life aspect I hope DC decides to go on with his story at some point in the future (Alongside other age of heroes characters) and maybe even place him in the current growing DCEU
Honestly, this comic looks really good and I’m looking into purchasing it. It’s a shame that they flopped because even if they are a “Spider-man rip off” there’s so much uniqueness and potential with this character that I don’t mind the visuals and some details referencing the wall crawler. I honestly think Sideways is familiar looking enough that it’s aesthetically pleasing, peeks interest, and unique enough to build interest. It makes me hope eventually something like young Justice or the ninth season of the flash picks up Sideways, or even gives him his own show.
I think there are more variables to consider when you look at a new character not being as popular as established characters. With Sideways, his similarities to Spider-Man contributed to both his success and failure…it’s a story all to familiar that draws in new readers (because of the new character) and old ones (because the story isn’t too new) alike but because of the familiarity it’s makes it predictable and boring to some discouraging readers to see what’s next. I think another important thing to consider would be marketing because this is a actually a really cool character but it isn’t shown off as much as it should.
I'm actually very happy you're tackling I'm Puerto Rican and we don't have many superheroes are characters we can look up to I'm very sad this character isn't as popular as they are cuz the only part that Spider-Man about them is their actions the waiter's suit looks and how they pose and this really sucks because I want one Puerto Rican representation out there but they just isn't much at least not that I've seen I can't really think of Puerto Rican superhero other than Blue beetle and Miles Morales and hardly anyone knows Miles Morales is Puerto Rican at least they didn't know before the spider verse movies so it means a lot that you're tackling a character like this
Fans "we want something new and original!" Dc/marvel "ok, try this in for size" Fans "these changes scare us, give us back what we expect" Dc/marvel "puts out another batman event/spiderverse" Fans "typical entertainment, too afraid to try anything new" (smug laugh)
I came into this video thinking it was just gonna shit on this unheard of new DC hero named sideways but after watching this video all the way through I think I’m kinda feelin this new character I absolutely love it when authors write a character with such a simple ability like creating portals and not only thinking outside the box but destroying the box itself by making that ability so much more insanely versatile than just creating portals
![Spider-Man's Failed Sidekick [Alpha]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/a1N_oc2eVms/mqdefault.jpg)
His powers are cool. He doesn't need to teleport himself. He could warp enemies away and directly to jail without even getting anyone hurt. That's pretty OP. And the concept of a character balancing life, school, work and super heroing is something DC doesn't do a lot.
Unless the enemy was super power or weapon and can just open a hole in the wall and get out
They were doing it with Blue Beetle though. That's who he mostly reminds me of.
Never heard of sideways but definitely going to check him out. Seems like a really cool new original character.
It's a pathetic copy of an original character.
Copycat
I wouldn’t say the character failed; I would say the company dropped the ball on a new character with incredible potential.
Him with brimstone and damage
Nah this character is mid lmao
@@-.Outlaw.- DC, ever since Brother Eye has been mid. Portal Spiderman slaps.
DC doesn't let comics find their own audience anymore it takes a lot of time.
Then again, Supersons was popular and sold well, and they killed off and ruined that, too. 😭
Rest in peace, 🏳️🌈 Kid Jon .
That Aged Up Super Snore will never surpass you.
@@-.Outlaw.- this character is esentially Spider-Man, do you think Spider-Man is mid ?
Given the new popularity of The Spot. I think Sideways might have have a chance to be popular in DC soon
I can help with that
Honestly I wish that line of "Age of Heroes" continued. Silencer, Brimstone, Damage, and Sideways were a great addition to the DC universe for anybody who wasn't intimately familiar
I felt like such a DC fan during the new age of heroes! I wish they would bring it back
The Terrifics were also a great team book with already established DC characters
@@loganwendigo937 Exactly, if DC fully committed on the marketing, that could have been a great book to drip feed the rest of the DC universe to them
Agreed
@@mindcraftful me 2
I always felt like Sideways would’ve fit perfectly with Bat Family given the rogues gallery (like Spider-man) and the ability to do some cool stuff at night
Or they could've added him with duke and expand the day Gotham heroes at night Batman and at day.....making the bat family more in-depth and more unique members
Love seeing Sideways get some attention. The new comics that came out as part of this movement were interesting if only because they were all DC’s take on Marvel Characters (The Terrifics were the Fantastic 4, Damage was Hulk etc) but Sideways definitely had the potential to be a hit. Here’s hoping we get something in the future.
Jesus Christ
The Silencer was the Punisher...
They should’ve put Sideways with the Terrifics.
Like what marvel did with squadron supreme
@@mttylerdurden9 Yes but no. There's a whole lore of a DC group that's basically like Squadron Supreme, since they're DC's Avengers, and both Squadron Supreme and this team were part of an "unofficial crossover" sort of thing.
I never actually sit and read comics. I usually get all the info from my friends or my cousin, since she goes through soooo many. Sideways is the only comic series i eagerly waited for and i was heartbroken when it was discontinued.
There's no time like the present to start the hobby. 😊
❤👉 YOU good 👍
I really liked Sideways too. Yes, at first I thought, "oh he looks like Spider-Man", but also "Hey this is a cool power set. Great art too. This book is actually kinda fun!"
Same
Exactly my thought process
The sad thing is, I actually found a discarded Sideways comic and read through it, loved it, and realized they killed it. So sad. One of the first "new" comics I had read at the time.
I think "characters inspired to some extent by the competitor's character, but with enough twists and uniqueness to set it apart" is something that's been going on a lot between Marvel and DC, since... Well, basically since they started doing comics.
For real lmao
Since before, if you count characters like cap- sry shazam
Deadpool deathstroke
And it could even lead to something awesome is done well.
@@firepuppies4086 it already did, flash, quicksilver, lizard and killer croc are all awesome
As a hardcore bonafide Spider-Man fan, I totally loved reading Sideways, and felt he would have been a great DC version of Spider-Man. Just enough similarity and nuance to make it something
Sideways is one of the first comic books I read from beginning to end. The growth Derek showed and still had to go was amazing and I’m still pissed it was never finished
Seems like a pretty cool character and IP. The Peter Parker archetype with a different power set is always cool to see. Also, using teleportation in creative ways is hella fun and hella deadly.
A while back ago I saw sideways, thought his design and powers were cool, but never really bothered to do a full deep-dive research on the character. And he seemed just obscure enough no one would really talk about him. But man am I glad to be wrong!
Thanks for bringing a spotlight on the character! Really is a shame though we only got as much as we did though.
They already had a Peter Parker analogy in Ted Kord. Steve Ditko who co created Spider-Man and created Blue Beetle, stated that Ted was envisioned as an older successful Peter Parker
The Terrifics was great as well. I liked how it took 4 heroes who had nothing to do with one another and basically forced them to be a team. Seeing them go from strangers to having this family dynamic is pretty cool.
Dc fantastic four
@@Watch-0w1 except these characters have long stood on their own before this
I loved The Terrifics so much!
I would love to see more of them together
Kinda like Jetman or Donbrothers huh
I'm so mad that they didn't make him more unique. I'm a big White Wolf fan, and in Werewolf: The Apocalypse "stepping sideways" means to cross the gauntlet into the shadowlands and I love seeing a character who can make portals named "Sideways". I sincerely hope this character returns one day, without all of the Spider-Man influences.
i think if they were to give him a new series now, he’d have so much potential to stand on his own. also, YES a TV adaptation would be PERFECT for Sideways!!
I mean, if Blue Beetle does well!!!
It baffles me that Naomi got a series before sideways.
Sideways would’ve fit the Arrowverse like a glove.
@@g.a.2997 Smh. Who tf even approved Naomi. Shit had me HEATED 🤣 🤣 🤣 Worse than black lightning fam
I would love for it to be animated, not to say that it would be bad if it was live action, because Star-Girl exists, but I just feel like it would work better that way and maybe it could be part of it's own universe with all the other New Age of Heroes characters
I would like to see Sideways show up in a DC movie one day that would be pretty sick he does have an interesting backstory
Now we need a 3 way crossover, Spidey, Invincible, and sideways
We got two thirds there in the mid-to-late 00's (i.e., that Marvel Team-Up storyline where Spidey and Invincible met).
"What would you have after 500 years Mark?
"Dirt... dirt in your eyes dad"
I would love to see this, but I don't think that it will ever happen.
@@b.parker1740 The best part is that it's canon to the Invincible series, and so was meeting Batman.
@@b.parker1740 that part where he meets the avengers and lists off who everyone’s name might be and he calls Luke Cage “black-man” lmao
absolutely loved this guy and silencer! really hope he can get a good meaty run in a young justice/teen titans esque book to get some new fans, i think bendis proved he's worth having around if for no other purpose than as a convenient plot device for getting a bunch of people in one place at one time
I really want to see more of Sideways, he seems really fun
So Sideways (luv the name btw) is basically a combination of TWO Marvel characters to make something new yet familiar.
He’s basically the love child of Spider-Man & America Chavez. With Spider-Man’s fashion sense and most of America’s abilities except flight.
I personally like Sideways and I managed to buy two of his comics, they were actually my first comics I ever bought. I really hope they bring him back at some point.
Edit: Since this video, I have managed to attain another Sideways comic. I really hope he makes a comeback.
Great video! Hopefully we get more of Sideways in the future. You were right when you mentioned the character has potential. That whole line of comics was decent and filled with potential. For example Curse of the Brimstone was a run that we really enjoyed with Sideways.
Wow, I feel ancient for understanding the “Who was phone?” joke. That aside, portals can be a really cool power when done right. A shame Sideways didn’t have a unique costume.
That shit made me laugh 😂
*Sideways is a really interesting character, and his story holds the reader, he has references to Spider-Man that are not even a copy, far from it in fact, he is just another teenager like many teenage heroes. I really wanted a sequel to his comics, I really fell in love with the character. I would like your comic to be released in my country (Brazil), but I'm pretty sure it never will be released because of your "failure".*
*Just for the record, I also really liked "Damage"*
I was expecting a funny story about "Haha look at this time DC tried to rip off Spider-Man in the 80s" or something. I was not expecting to be mad that a comic I've never read never took off. This guy sounds so cool and based off this video sounds like he could hold his own solo cartoon for at least a season. Maybe more if the writers are willing to make stuff up and take risks.
2:54 Ironically when discussing a Spider-Man ripoff I couldn't help but get reminded of a Spider-Man villain... who is his joke villain that being Spot.
I actually own the entire Sideways run on physical. It was an interesting read, the character had a ton of potential to really grow into his own. Kept me coming back to my comic book store weekly, at least.
Sideways: Who are you?
The Spot: I'm you, but I was done being a joke.
I always saw Sideways as more of a Nightcrawler type character, Drake. He has the exact same power set despite looking like Ben Riley drawing board leftover
Nightcrawler teleports while Sideways creates rifts that he has to travel through so I wouldn't call it 'the exact same power set'.
Sideways portals are more versatile though.
I mean, his powers are Nightcrawler, but Sidaways isn't a mutant discriminated for having blue skin, born in Germany, son of a demon, an adult, and part of a team of mutants that fight against discrimination (and supervillains).
Sideways is literally nothing like Nightcrawler they don't even have the same power set
If you're looking for a mutant to match Sideways' powers to it'd be either Magick (her stepping disks, specifically), Manifold or Gateway. However, story wise they are NOTHING like Sideways.
I'm initially excited when Sideways comics come out because the idea of DC's version of Spiderman is pretty cool. But after it ended I knew it would get no further push and thus be another forgotten character. Glad this video exists and highlights some of Sideways potential
Honestly it’s been a while since anyone mentions sideways, it’s a shame they had to cancel his comic.🐱
I was really upset when this character was released because I was playing around with the idea of a character that was inspired by Spiderman that used portals to traverse and fight. He couldn't teleport anywhere he wanted to tho because it was kind of a portal gun situation where he'd need line of fire to create the entrance and exit so in order to travel fast he would kinda just "fall" wherever he needed to go. I.E. jump off a building then create a portal that would point him in a safe direction until it was time to shoot more portals.
He had a few other abilities like a spacial awareness perk because he obviously manipulates the space time continuum to a degree so why not be able to perceive all space immediately around you in slow motion. That and the beams to shoot portals could also be used as regular beams.
I suppose that since it was based off one of the most popular super heroes ever, I can't say I'm that surprised but the degree in which it was similar to my idea really sent me. On top of that, my hero academia came around and that took out the rest of the characters I was working on considering all might was nearly a one to one copy of one of the main characters I was working on
Sideways looks like a pretty cool character. His powers and design looks awesome.
Imagine that this video is the whole reason DC actually brings the character back. I'd love to read more than one comic about Sideways.
This character actually sounds cool as heck I'd love to check out his series and I hope DC continues to do more with him
What's sad and funny is DC already had it's own Spider-man counterpart, in Static Shock. He had a TV show so it was way more accessible, he has a very similar, yet alternative origin, and obviously abilities, to Spider-man. All the differences make it hit hard because it's then not a beaten ripp off of Spider-mans look and Style. Static moving more like magneto. There's so many other aspects, his villains, his Canon event, it's so wild that they never really did more with his character.
Sideways is cool in a sense, but wish they didn't make his look that similar to spidey, as well poses, and they could have got us into him if they, like with Static, gave him his own show instead of comics.
I would love to see Sideways added to the Teen Titans someday. I think he’s a pretty great character and would benefit greatly from the bigger exposure being on that team would bring him. Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle would be great too.
I agree with everything you said, but to be honest, both publishers have ripped off the other many many times
Read this entire run a couple months ago, absolutely loved it. Still hoping for that Sideways tv show on HBO Max or a (couple of) Sideways movie(s). Hopefully this character gets the spotlight he needed to warrant another on-going comic run, because I loved it for the most part and there's still a lot of unresolved threads in the first comic run.
Genuinely thought he would be perfect for like an unlockable DC character in a lego game lmao. At least something to promote him or nudge DC to do more with him
All of the comic book publishers have created parallel characters. This includes Image and Dark Horse. Most of the publishers employ the same writers and artists.
Honestly my biggest take away with launching a new character is maybe don't give them a book out the gate. Back door pilot them to just be around established characters and give them a hook. Cool power, likeable character, big mystery, etc. Have you reader base be decently familiar before expecting them to stand on their own. I hope that Sideways will get a second life down the road and his initial run will be looked back on, but more often than not, it ends up being, "well this character is a dud" and they never even appear in the background. Sometimes coming out of the gate swinging works, just look at Kamala Khan, but she had the Captain Marvel association. Even Wolverine took a while to really take off
To be fair, Wolverine’s first appearance was goofy as hell, and he was also a bit of an antagonist (from what I remember) in The Incredible Hulk
@@cthulhutheendless1587 he was semi antagonistic, the main bad guy was the Wendigo but he and Hulk did fight. Still, he was very different from the Wolverine we know today (wasn't even intended to have claws himself I believe, they were just in his gloves).
Kamala honestly gets hyped for the wrong reasons tho so not a good example. However Miles worked fine as a standout and they kept with it. DC could have kept with Sideways and not stopped
@@zraiarz9301 What are the wrong reasons? Her original book is a pretty solid book. To me it sounds like you didn’t like that people liked a comic about a middle eastern girl.
@@DrDinoNuggies you jumping to her being middle eastern from the start without me specifying any reason on why I said she was overhyped tells me all I need to know about you
Wow. The production quality of these videos has really improved over time. Keep up the great and fun work!
Thank you! That really means a lot when somebody notice and appreciate my improving writing and editing. 😊
Thanks for talking about this comic. I would have never even have known. I'm totally going to check it out, because it sounds interesting and I haven't read a DC comic in a while that I actually got into.
Also... Totally agree with the sentiment about people who say "Don't eff with established heroes... Make your own" because this is exactly what happens.
Sideways, Silencer, The Terrifics, and Curse of Brimstone were all amazing and I wish we would get new ongoings with all of them.
And now, Sideways is back for a small role in Dark Crisis.
I found it weird that out of the new Age of Heroes, Silencer and The Terrifics lasted... AWHILE. I remember when these were announced, released, their criticism, and their quick to passing deaths.
I have the whole run of Sideways actually. I got it when I was still new to following comics week to week. I also followed that Immortal Men book and thought both were fun, solid stories. I definitely think he has a lot of potential. Put him on a team or in a show and I think a lot of folks will resonate with him.
Sideways was coming out when I was in high school and I loved the book so much.
It’s nice seeing someone talking as passionately about him as I do!
What's funny is that DC may have also ripped off Transformers cause there is a character named Sideways that travels around the multiverse
His comics were pretty interesting. Wish they could have done something more with him. Definitely had potential and loved the artwork!
10:37 that reminds me of people who complained about milestone in the 90s, saying that because a majority of it's superheros we're black or other people of color, that it was "racist against white's".
I actually read sideways first issue like the year it came out and loved him. Something about a event that made some comics free on this official comic app (forgot what it was called) I was a broke kid so I couldn't afford to buy the rest online so I just forgot about him but man was I ready to become obsessed with him. Always wondered what happened to him, sad to see the story never got finished.
now that the spot is more popular, there is no way this character isn't called a copy
I do remember when this guy came out and it clearly was them trying to make Spider-Man. Here I was thinking Blue Beetle was basically DC’s own Spider-Man
The original Blue Beetle pre dates Spiderman by like 2 decades
@@scinnyc I think they're talking about Jaime Reyes rather than Ted Kord or Dan Garrett. He definitely fits into the mould of a spider-man-esque character
@@booksvsmovies I always saw Jaime Reyes as more of a Power Rangers/Beetle Borgs type character
@@scinnyc fair enough
the problem with DC is that they are unable to keep things on a small scale. there is always must be other universes that need to be saved, some kind of deities that want to kill someone. what makes Spidey more memorable is that he is and forever will be a street-level superhero. him being in some kind of big event and not on the streets is a rare exception, not the other way around. and, of course, Sideways is thrown into some kind of intergalactic beef with some kind of team
I really wish this line caught on more. There was something that felt like the potential of a real new generation without the baggage of decades of legacy for new readers
I don't see Sideways as Spidey's ripoff, aside of being teen and almost similar look on suit(and the infamous twisted quote), they have different origin/background, personality and skill set. I like him as much as like Spidey and Batsy. Definitely in my top 10 of fave DC characters. I also like the other DC's New Age of Heroes entry, esp Silencer and The Terrifics.
I remember picking up and reading the Sideways series when it first came out. I think I'm missing the last two issues or so, but I can remember having mixed feelings on the book, despite being a teenager myself when it came out. I'll have to go back and read them again, cuz man that suit looked cool (says the very big Spidey fan boi)
I would say that the character's failure was more so due to comic book piracy. The book was quite popular at the time and people had so many good things to say about it. The issue is that it seemed that people weren't buying the book but rather reading it on websites that uploaded the comic books for free.
I loved sideways, silencer, and damage so much! All solid stories! Really loved the ending of sideways.
Honestly, I didn't read Silencer because I can't stand Romita's art.
@@ComicDrake sigh, yea, he’s so feast or famine, I hear ya. If you want my suggestion. Try out “the Terrifics ” by Jeff Lemire if you haven’t already. This was all part of Dcs “new age of heroes” that low key seemed like Dc saying they could do marvels characters better. Terrifics was their fantastic four and went the longest and had amazing writing and art! If I remember during this era, they played around with putting the artists first on the credits of covers.
@@ComicDrake Same man can't stand Romita's art sincs the JMS run and Kick-ass. It's just so bad now. Look at the new Spider-Man for example
Sideways does seem interesting but, his powers sound very close to Vibe's. Interdimensional portals, dead family member, gets powers from unusual paranormal event. That's Vibe, right down to his Latino roots.
Puerto Rican superhero that can teleport and travel through dimensions? I winder if he'll ever meet Vibe
This could been in the DCU
Honestly Sideways is my top 3 or 5 favorite character. I wish this series had more issues. It will definitely stay in the top 3 of recommendations for me. I absolutely love seeing him pop up at random since it shows someone at the company remembers him and I appreciate that.
His comic was so fun. Every time I reread it I just keep seeing so many potential plot points and ideas you could get outta him
@@rezonan3520 Ain't that the truth. One of the biggest things, I keep thinking about when it comes to Sideways is, him mapping out the dark multiverse and running into The Final Knight.
Wish you'd go over Green Lantern: New Guardians, as that series ended with a HUGE cliffhanger regarding the White Lantern Corps, that is NEVER referenced again.
How did this not work? This character has a lot of potential. The Spider-Man vibes are real and he could really use a bit more love.
Also he would probably pair well with someone like Static.
Yes he would! Maybe not as like a duo but definitely for a crossover arc at least! They both seem to be trying to target the same demographic and have a sort of similar style to their brand of heroics too. Plus the potential for world ending combo with Static manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum with portal powers to fight some colossal big bad.
It worked, american comics ow just have a very very small number of readers that comic runs don't last for years like in the past. Even the most popular titles like X-men, Avengers, Superman, batman, etc. get a re-start every year or so or a change of writers/artists to ignite interest anew.
Sideways lasted for 13 issues, that's about the average runs for those non-major titles today. Readers just can't get past the old times when titles run for years and years but that was when there were millions and millions of comic readers. Now, I doubt if there are even a million comic buyers and all of them restrict themselves to DC only, or marvel only, or independents only, or just their favorites. The bottomline is except for the major titles, all comics sales dwindle to about 15,000 to 20,000 after just a few issues...just about the cut-off for termination of the title.
10 years later
Sideways : No Way Home
Man I Love Sideways. That cliffhanger had me on the edge of my seat. It hurt realising they weren't going to continue his story
I created that character as a kid!
not literally obviously.
but I once imagined a superhero with the same type of warp teleportation powers and a black Spider man inspired costume. He was a student who got sent to a dark dimension after a freak lab accident and came back with teleportation powers, since he was fan of Spider-Man, he designed a costume inspired by his and even had his girlfriend help him make the costume.
And balanced studies, Super-heroics and trying to find his adoptive mother who had gone missing.
I loved Sideways and was sad his book ended and he didn’t really show up again (besides a random background cameo in BMB’s Young Justice)😢💔
i was nervous to watch this video for a while because i wasn’t sure if you were going to drag sideways or not haha
I really like the designs of all these characters. Colourful, visually clear, interesting to look at. I do think Sideways himself could have used a bit of a different design, maybe some portal esc features.
I don’t run a comic company but I think what they should’ve done was launch heroes one at a time and make them the centre of attention for a bit. Have a sideways appear in a superman comic.
Welcome back to my feed, Drake! No idea why the algorithm put you on timeout, but it's good to have you back!
Sounds like you have a lot of catching up to do. 😉
I remember hearing about Sideways years ago thanks to comicstorian. It seemed interesting as did Damage but I am sad neither got the chance to shine. Thanks for covering this Drake 😃
I remember I was reading one of the issues related to the Lazarus event and he showed up to help a hero called red canary. I’ve never heard of those two before but I found them very interesting and fun characters to read about. I didn’t know if they had their own run or not but after seeing this I hope they do more with them. And now Ill probably buy his run if it’s a trade paperback
Honestly seems to be an underrated character. yeah the Spider-Man inspiration is evident but it takes that and makes it it's own. they should definitely do more with the character, I don't understand why it was a failure.
Yo I would’ve checked this out, but I had zero idea it existed
Really which Sideways took off more, cause it sounds like a cool concept.
Freaking- I got an add right at
“My hart broke when derrick said:
“TH-cam MUSIC GIVES YOU HOURS OF FREE MUSIC”
Did you know that DC actually attempted to ripoff Spider Man back in the day?
It was more subtle but when DC made Firestorm they saw the success of a teenager getting powers from a radioactive accident all the while going through school and teen drama and decided to cash in on it.
Yeah cuz Spider-Man created the child superhero trope and is the first hero to ever get powers from radiation…🗿🤦🏿
You honestly believe that Spider-Man was the first child-to-adult superhero? Man sit down.
Seemed like a fun character. For what it's worth, DC has had at least a couple versions of Spider-Man over the years. Firestorm back in the 80's and Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle (an argument could be made for the Ted Kord Blue Beetle as well).
Sideways I thought was a very interesting character.
Cool🦧
Even though a lot of Sideways came from Spidey, this comic really interests me especially with the unfound in DC teenager's life aspect
I hope DC decides to go on with his story at some point in the future (Alongside other age of heroes characters) and maybe even place him in the current growing DCEU
Sideways is still around in Dark Crisis btw! Just started the video so not sure if it’s also mentioned by Drake lol.
Honestly, this comic looks really good and I’m looking into purchasing it.
It’s a shame that they flopped because even if they are a “Spider-man rip off” there’s so much uniqueness and potential with this character that I don’t mind the visuals and some details referencing the wall crawler.
I honestly think Sideways is familiar looking enough that it’s aesthetically pleasing, peeks interest, and unique enough to build interest.
It makes me hope eventually something like young Justice or the ninth season of the flash picks up Sideways, or even gives him his own show.
I didn't even knew this character exists and i feel kinda sad he didn't make a breakthrough.
I honestly love sideways. I kinda hope more big swings like this can come from the big publishers. Great video!
Just from seeing sideways, I can tell he’s a Spiderman ripoff
And black spider. And marval copys more if you didn't own
...
I think there are more variables to consider when you look at a new character not being as popular as established characters. With Sideways, his similarities to Spider-Man contributed to both his success and failure…it’s a story all to familiar that draws in new readers (because of the new character) and old ones (because the story isn’t too new) alike but because of the familiarity it’s makes it predictable and boring to some discouraging readers to see what’s next. I think another important thing to consider would be marketing because this is a actually a really cool character but it isn’t shown off as much as it should.
Sounds like a fun comic. Might check it out later.
I really love the suit, honestly
I'm actually very happy you're tackling I'm Puerto Rican and we don't have many superheroes are characters we can look up to I'm very sad this character isn't as popular as they are cuz the only part that Spider-Man about them is their actions the waiter's suit looks and how they pose and this really sucks because I want one Puerto Rican representation out there but they just isn't much at least not that I've seen I can't really think of Puerto Rican superhero other than Blue beetle and Miles Morales and hardly anyone knows Miles Morales is Puerto Rican at least they didn't know before the spider verse movies so it means a lot that you're tackling a character like this
Sideways deserves more chances.
Teleportation is a fucking horrifying power if done correctly.
Fans "we want something new and original!"
Dc/marvel "ok, try this in for size"
Fans "these changes scare us, give us back what we expect"
Dc/marvel "puts out another batman event/spiderverse"
Fans "typical entertainment, too afraid to try anything new" (smug laugh)
I came into this video thinking it was just gonna shit on this unheard of new DC hero named sideways but after watching this video all the way through I think I’m kinda feelin this new character I absolutely love it when authors write a character with such a simple ability like creating portals and not only thinking outside the box but destroying the box itself by making that ability so much more insanely versatile than just creating portals
8:15 “My heart broke when Derek said” *ad comes up* “Heritage Banks ability to adjust to our needs is everything”