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RobertMacQuarrie1 — Aztek the Ultimate Man

Published: 2014-01-27 23:59:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 3786; Favourites: 91; Downloads: 33
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Description A rather obscure hero from the late 90's, most notable for his brief stint on the JLA and for his solo title being written by joint heavyweights Grant Morrison and Mark Millar.

An interesting character for sure, but- as the saying goes- execution is everything.  I read pretty much all of his solo titles, and while I appreciate what the creators were trying to go for with the character, how they went about it seemed lacking.  It was an interesting experiment to try and fashion a hero that was more thoughtful, intelligent, rational and just more likable than most of the 90's "Anti-Heroes" that had come to prominence, that tried to solve their problems more through violence than by skill or strategy.  However, Aztek never really came across as all that effective of a superhero.  He seemed to blunder into victory rather than achieve it on his own.  Bad guys were either defeated by their own stupidity, but blind luck in Aztek's favor.  Plus, the "heightened" reality of Aztek's home town of Vanity seemed to delve far too much into the absurd.  It never came alive the same way Gotham or Metropolis did.  Overall, I get what the creators were trying to do.  I just don't think they succeeded in the attempt.

For this image, I redesigned Aztek's wings slightly.  I hated that look he had in the comics, which was basically just strapping a shag rug to his back for his "flight" ability.  Instead I gave him gold metal wings coming out from his underarms which I feel is a better look visually.
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Comments: 6

Austin7613 [2023-09-16 14:51:37 +0000 UTC]

👍: 2 ⏩: 0

MCsaurus [2017-11-10 16:08:20 +0000 UTC]

Whoa.

Awesome Aztek the Ultimate Man, I think I like it.

Maybe I draw him sometimes.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

TheProfBurg [2014-01-28 02:42:25 +0000 UTC]

Despite his rather lackluster start, I think Aztek had the capabilities to grow as a character and become the superhero that he needed to be. Sadly DC killed him off before it could happen.

👍: 1 ⏩: 2

Austin7613 In reply to TheProfBurg [2023-09-16 14:51:51 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

RobertMacQuarrie1 In reply to TheProfBurg [2014-01-28 03:50:07 +0000 UTC]

I agree.  The character had potential.  Unfortunately it was squandered rather quickly and nothing more came of it. 

👍: 1 ⏩: 0

DarkOliver [2014-01-28 00:00:53 +0000 UTC]

Radical.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0