Or Napoleon, if his ghost eyecon is ever made and used in the show.

Or Columbus, cause seriously, screw Columbus. Edison is a saint in comparison.

But yeah, there are some funky choices in here.
For instance, I find it kind of funny that Takeru is going to have forms based on both Ryoma and Kondou, considering the fact that Kondou was executed for the crime of killing Ryoma (apparently historians mostly think he didn't actually do it, but still! that's some awkward soul arranging right there. you'd think they'd give one of them to makoto instead).

Couldn't it be argued that Edison's constant patenting hindered advancements by snuffing out competition and limiting others?

According to this show, heroes are apparently are people who's lives "burnt brighter" than others. Nothing about that implies that they had to be "good", just loud and drawing more attention than Joe Average.

I can understand that, but aren't there better westerners who's lives "Burned Brighter" than Billy the Kid?
I can't name any, but I never really cared about that era of history in the US.

Billy was from the cowboy era, cowboys sell, and he was one of the more prominent ones known. Whether or not you care about that part of history not withstanding. It's not like he Jeffery Dahmer or Charles Manson.

Besides, most of the other famous westerners are used up in the Fate/Stay Night series.

Are you sure? Cowboys have been out of fashion for a while now, hence their overall low presence in media.
Unless Japan is, for some reason, super into them.
I guess that would explain Starninger...

So have Robin Hood and Beethoven, but they're part of the Eyecons too.

The idea is that they're long dead people who had great moments. Cowboys had a great long period of being loved, same as samurai (hence why so many American and Japanese works try to team the two up, if not ninjas as well).

Nobunaga was a horrible conqueror, but Japan loves to bring him up constantly. Mummies have been out of fashion as well, but Specter has Tutankhamen as a form as well. Really, the entire theme seems to be bringing back people or concepts that used to be seen as cool.

I think they were just looking for a famous gunslinger so Ghost can have a gun-based form.

I agree. Most of all, I hated that Tesla was the name of the freaking villain. That should have been reversed.

BTW, I think both Columbus and Nobunaga are heroes. Nobunaga started the unification of Japan and they owe it to him to be where they are today. Columbus discovered the Americas for Europe and we Americans also owe him for what he did because it allowed us to betray the motherland and declare ourselves a nation.

Edison didn't do anything for us other than steal Tesla's work and call it his own.