You may think it's stupid or out of character, but you can't say it wasn't gutsy. Turning a square-jawed superhero into a major villain is the kind of idea anyone would hate if they were reading the book at the time, but it made a kick-ass character origin for anyone who wasn't. And the overwhelming majority wasn't. For anyone who jumped in at that point, the fact that this guy had been published as a superhero for 30 years only made the concept cooler.
Kyle isn't any less of an "attempt at appealing to a demographic" than Spider-Man or the Human Torch. Or John himself, some would say. I don't see how that takes anything away from the character.
aye.
