Straw Hat Crew from One Piece

One of the toughest things about an ensemble cast adventure is having the various heroes and villains debut.  You want each one to make an impact, but you also want the story to move at a decent pace.  Stretching the appearances too long can lead to the main plot being ignored and forgotten. Villains tend to be easier since you have different tiers and they get less story time.  Having an entire level of baddies debut in a meeting is a simple way to bring them into the light even if only one or two face the heroes.

It’s not the same with the good guys.  You want their reason for joining, a glimmer of history/current life, and a personality to make them fit.  It gets harder as the group grows too because you have to avoid overshadowing and ignoring the previously introduced heroes. …