Nathan Fillion fans continue to clamor for more nerd-friendly projects for the Firefly actor to take on, and Fillion himself is feeding the fire by suggesting a few superhero boots he wouldn't mind stepping into. The Castle star name-dropped a few, though relatively obscure, comic book character names in response to a fan question at Wizard World Comic Con Chicago this past weekend. Fillion is no stranger to the DC Comics universe, having voiced numerous characters in animated Justice League, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern series, and even the Robot Chicken DC Comics specials, but also banked a Marvel role with his voice part in Guardians of the Galaxy. That cross-comics resume inspired the fan question, which you can hear below along with Fillion's response:

Watch the Q&A below (via comicbook.com):


If everything Fillion said made sense to you, great! Let us know what you think of him playing any of the above-mentioned characters in either a cross-over special or his own show by sharing in the comments below. For those of you who were a bit lost by Fillion's response, here's our handy answer key:

Booster Gold

Fillion said: “I think I could take a pretty good crack at Booster Gold. That’s kind of my niche… show-offy, vain. I think I could handle that… not too bright.”

Booster Gold
Image via DC Comics/Dan Jurgens

This DC Comics character was created by Dan Jurgens and made his first appearance in his own title series in 1986. Though he's been a member of the Justice League, Booster Gold was originally created as a time-traveling show-off who returns to the past with the advantage of his advanced technology and uses his knowledge of prior events to stage publicity stunts that make him appear to be the hero. Eventually, his own manufactured reputation starts to weigh him down, even as he becomes a true hero on his own.

Born in 25th century Gotham but rising to celebrity stardom in the Metropolis of the past, Booster Gold used powerful artifacts and technology from other superheroes in order to create his own persona with which he amassed a vast amount of wealth and formed a corporation around himself in the past. While I can't see Fillion actually playing Booster Gold in a series that centers on the character, I think he'd make a great Booster in a cameo appearance. The CW's Legends of Tomorrow is a DC Comics-centered spin-off show which features time-traveling aspects and a time-traveling character himself in Rip Hunter. Though they've been partnered up in the comics, Booster originally used Hunter's time machine to make his initial journey back into the past. Is it likely that Fillion will show up in the blue and gold suit on The CW show? No, but it is certainly within the realm of possibilities.


Fillion also hinted at these obscure properties:

“I think Ambush Bug. Remember that guy? Little bit off his rocker. You’d never see my face,” added Fillion. “But I think Greatest American Hero is due for a reboot.”

Ambush Bug Comics
Image via DC Comics

Ambush Bug

Another fictional DC Comics character who has been both hero and villain, Ambush Bug is a delusional human named Irwin Schwab who intercepted his super-suit - originally belonging to an alien being named Brum-El - after it crash-landed on Earth. (The other survivor of this crash is "Argh!Yle!", an argyle sock who is similar to Marvel's Doctor Doom in both appearance and personality.) His powers are basically the ability to teleport at will, and to be incredibly annoying. If you couldn't tell from this brief description, Ambush Bug is an absurd and silly character used sparingly by writers to either add some in-jokes or take pot-shots at rival comic characters. I'm assuming Fillion mentioned Ambush Bug in the same joking manner.

The Greatest American Hero

ABC's comedy-drama series The Greatest American Hero aired from 1981 to 1983 and told the story of teacher Ralph Hinkley (later changed to Hanley) who was gifted a red super-suit by a group of aliens. Not only does Ralph hate wearing it, he loses the instructions so he's then forced to discover the suit's powers by trial and error. Though he's blessed with an almost endless array of powers, it often takes a specific instance for Ralph to discover how to use them, which leads to many comedic moments as you might imagine. Again this could have just been a little joke from Fillion, but I can definitely see him doing a one-off short film in the guise of The Greatest American Hero. Just watch the show's original intro and try not to picture Fillion's smiling face: