OMG! Why do they keep doing years? Just say "A Short Time Later"

Why can't they learn? Why do they keep have to specify years! I don't know why fans except Marvel being on a sliding time frame, and not DC (I think it has something to do with their WWII-era characters having been more popular), but they do!

DC keeps saying what 'years' things happen in. Then people hit the internet showing how insane the math is on certain thing.

If anyone from DC at NYCC is reading: QUICK! Just specify 1938, then list everything else as "A short time after that" or "Some time later"! STOP being so specific! It's part of why you have to reboot so much! You can't cram 80 years of still going continuity into a decade! Don't be specific and we will fill in the blanks for ourselves!

I just counted the years.
Generation 1 is 25
Generation 2 is 15
Generation 3 is 15
Generation 4 is 5
Batman debuted in year 1 of Generation 2
Dick became Robin at Year 3 of Generation 2, Nightwing in Year 15 of Generation 2 and Batman at Year 1 of Generation 4
That means Bruce's around 60 years old now. I don't think, at least, starting with generation 2, it's a realistic year... except I just counted Damian's age and it fits... so who knows.

See? See what they started? Don't they know we suffer from Obsessive Continuity Disorder Over DC??? We can't help ourselves! I don't even LIKE math and i know I'll be fixated on how old the Robins were when the next Robin took over!

Just put "A short time later", DC! It's just a single "replace all"! Help end Obsessive Continuity Disorder Over DC!

#StopOCDODC

As much as I loved [I]All-Star Squadron[/I], IMO, that's really where DC got it's mania for dates. Up to that point, yeah, we all knew GA DC had stories set in WWII, but prior to All-SS, the stories didn't really make the war a centerpiece of the Golden Age Characters' identities. From Thomas' (admittedly, wonderful) epic on, the Golden Age Characters as WWII Heroes became a key contrast with their contemporary counter-parts.

I agree with you; if they won't restore the multiverse, don't be so specific. They should leave the period between HUAC and "Modern" DC's debut as an ever-expanding zone of untold tales, with "Modern" DC beginning "some years back."

Okay, so after paying attention, each Generation seems to run in real-time
Generation 1 Clark becomes Superboy from age 13 to 18 and Bruce was 10 when his parents died
Generation 2 Dick is Robin for 12 years
Generation 3 Damian debuts when he's 10
But somewhere along the way, there's an age down. Most clearly in Flashpoint, but possible in Crisis on Infinite Earths or Zero Hour as well.

[QUOTE=Restingvoice;4610033]Okay, so after paying attention, each Generation seems to run in real-time
Generation 1 Clark becomes Superboy from age 13 to 18 and Bruce was 10 when his parents died
Generation 2 Dick is Robin for 12 years
Generation 3 Damian debuts when he's 10
But somewhere along the way, there's an age down. Most clearly in Flashpoint, but possible in Crisis on Infinite Earths or Zero Hour as well.[/QUOTE]

And that's going to become a problem. Those numbers are going to add up to ever more crotchety ages as we go. So this is a fix that can only last a finite period of time, unless DC commits to turning Batman from a character into an inherited mantle, which ain't likely. At least, not in the long term.

I agree that DC shouldn't give exact dates, at most just reference times. Like medieval, WWII, wild west, just generic settings without a very specific 'when'. Giving character's ages is harder to avoid, however, but it at least can be a rare occurrence.