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I agree on the movies having to offer interesting characters and stories.

But I don't think marvel comics are running dry in that regard; there is still loads Disney could plunder from the comics

Well, guardians of the galaxy had been very obscure, but I am not quite ready to call them e tier.

Remember blade? I didn't even know it was a comic book character when its success paved the way.

Really, putting the blame on the obscurity of characters is making it too easy and ignores all the fuck-ups around the movies that in my opinion have had a big hand in making them fail (not an exhaustive list):

• Taking the worst trait from comicbooks: requiring the audience to have consumed other titles (worst offenders here are probably Dr. Strange 2 and the Marvels which need Wandavision and Ms. Marvel to make sense)
• Alienating the (mostly male) audience: a big offender there is She-Hulk
• Using fan service and cameos as replacement for good writing
• pacing issues and tonal backlash: Thor love and thunder suffered from giving emotional moments not enough time to breath in favour of cramming in more laughs

Also don't overestimate how many moviegoers are also Comic Fans.

I think your view is clouded by hindsight.

When the first iron man movie was announced, the character was a solid b-lister

The guardians of the galaxy were even more obscure during a comparable timeframe and had a different roster.

So b-listers can be elevated by good movies and at the same time a-listers in the comics can bomb (Thor 2, Thor 4, non-mcu: Spiderman 3)

How well-known a character is in my opinion not the deciding factor for the success of a movie. I'd say the quality of a movie and the ability to build hype (which gets harder with what appears to be superhero fatigue) play a bigger role

For context: This campaign is set in Greek mythology years after the trojan war and a second kidnapping of Persephone has caused Demeter to cancel Spring again.

Meet Diomedes, the Unsung. He was a fearsome warrior and cunning strategist blessed by Athena herself in his prime years. Many of the great deeds attributed to other heroes (Oddyseus and Ajax for example) were his accomplishments, but success amplified his own hubris until the fateful day he offended Hera.

She sent her champions and creatures to smite Diomedes, but he bested them using his cunning. In the end he could not escape a curse causing him to be forgotten by any living being and that what he treasures the most (his glory) being given to others.

Being forgotten that way, Diomedes resigned himself to a peaceful, quiet and humble life watching over his descendants, who couldn't remember him.

And now with eternal winter looming he drags his old bones into the underworld to save his descendants (and by extension the world) from frozen misery.

Mechanically he is a Custom Linage (ambiguously human) Dirge Singer Bard (from Keith Baker's Exploring Eberron) with a reflavoured Strixhaven Student Background focused on supporting his unlikely comrades as much as possible. This old man has trouble hurting anyone by himself, but he is still a fierce and cunning commander.

The Dirge Singer Bard gets broad inspiration allowing him to inspire twice as many people at the cost of slower progression on the bardic inspiration dice. And at a higher level he can use his reaction to allow an inspired creature to make an additional attack.