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[QUOTE=John Venus;5748169]They tried that with 5G and it didn't make much sense either.
I think Johns had the right idea but questionable execution. Just say that the various 'reboots' were actually different earths. Pre Crisis, Post Crisis, Rebirth and Nu52. That's the most sensible explanation. Although that makes me wonder how that will affect Jeremy Adams current Flash run. Will Wally be on the 'Rebirth' earth or the Post Crisis Earth?[/QUOTE]
Rebirth. The Post Crisis Earth is done. Otherwise Tim Drake and his peers would be 20, and Jon Kent would be just 1-3 years old since he can only have been born Post Flashpoint.
While in the new post Superman Reborn continuity that still applies, he was born 10+ years ago, with Supermarriage and Death of Superman happening before that.
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We are in the Infinte Frontier era now. Post Future State, Wonder Woman rebooted the universe again.
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I'm gonna get dragged for this but let me start by saying what I think [B]SHOULD[/B] happen. I think DC needs a [B]HARD[/B] reboot. As in everyone starts at zero. Clean slate. New origins, new beginnings. Maybe after that you can skip forward ten years so you get back to at least some semblance of where we are now but the backstory needs cleaned up. You can have Clark and Lois married. He died at the hands of Doomsday. Jon was born, etc. Donna can have her pre-Crisis origin with WW rescuing her as a baby because she served in the JSA during WW2. And make it very clear what counts and what doesn't. That having been said...
I like the idea of everyone remembering everything. it makes it feel more complete. Especially someone like Superman who has had so many different incarnations. They deserve to know all of their histories. What they choose to do with that information is up to them but they at least deserve to know it. I also like Johns idea of each continuity getting it's own universe but ultimately, we're never seeing those universes again.
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[QUOTE=Artemisfanboy;5748666]
Technically, the 5g timeline died in the development phase, and was supposed to be replaced with the everybody remembers everything model. Which then proceeded to fall apart. Though it did have a lot of problems, the biggest one being it's highly decompressed semi-real time nature.[/quote]
No I meant how the 5G timeline itself didn't make much sense. There was a thread on here discussing the proposed timeline 5G and everyone was pointing out how much of it was nonsense.
[quote]
While John's Metaverse back up idea is nice from a fluff point, it really doesn't make a difference at the end of the day. It's nice to be told that you're favorite version of the DCU exists somewhere in perpetuity, but unless new stories are being told in those universes, it doesn't really matter much to people who miss those universes. Likewise, we are still left with the questions regarding the current main universe we are reading.[/QUOTE]
The reason why I suggested it is not to maintain them in perpetuality but because I want to see those universe's explored.
Right now, there are no clean divides between the various iterations of the characters. It's all mixed together. How did the JLA form again? Was it Starro? The Appexallians? Darkseid and Stepphenwolf with an army of parademons? If you can separate the pre-Rebirth version of these characters histories into alternate universe, it gives the writers freedom to actually retell and redefine some of those stories or do a completely new one for a new generation.
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The problem with a hard reboot is that you create the world new, which gives you the
freedom to avoid the errors of the past. But then once the universe is up and running it is
deciding how it all fits together. As we saw in the New 52 coordination is not a DC hallmark.
What would happen invariably is that parts of it would fit together, while others wouldn't.
Then you simply have a DC fanbase that is sick and tired of these constant reboots. It comes
across more than anything else as desperation moves to boost circulation. If you did another
one of these greatest reboots of all time, the universe would change. But then we would be back
where we are now.
The fact that so much has been reversed after these reboots, means you can't take them seriously
as an event. When COIE happened I actually cried over the deaths of Helena Wayne and Dick Grayson
of what used to be called Earth-2. I know. How dumb was I? Now if someone is killed off, you figure
they will be back soon.
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[QUOTE=John Venus;5749706]No I meant how the 5G timeline itself didn't make much sense. There was a thread on here discussing the proposed timeline 5G and everyone was pointing out how much of it was nonsense. [/QUOTE]
I was just pointing out the number one problem with the leaked 5g timeline that I thinked killed it in the office. But I acknowlegded it had a lot of other problems and things that didn't make sense.
[QUOTE=John Venus;5749706]The reason why I suggested it is not to maintain them in perpetuality but because I want to see those universe's explored.
Right now, there are no clean divides between the various iterations of the characters. It's all mixed together. How did the JLA form again? Was it Starro? The Appexallians? Darkseid and Stepphenwolf with an army of parademons? If you can separate the pre-Rebirth version of these characters histories into alternate universe, it gives the writers freedom to actually retell and redefine some of those stories or do a completely new one for a new generation.[/QUOTE]
While it's nice idea and has it's merits. I don't think it's practical to expect DC to keep 3-4 main universes straight, when they seem to already have trouble handling one. Maybe they should prove they can handle the current Infinite Frontier universe get it straight, before they try to have additional separate lines for Pre-crisis Multiverse, Post Crisis Universe, and the New 52 Universe. Otherwise I think it could turn into even more of a mess.
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Nothing. There should not be previous lives.
When the multiverse came back DC should have with a much simpler straightforward design. Hard reboot the main story telling world, the status quo there being re-established from the ground up.
If Superman there did not have powers there as a kid, and did not meet the Legion as a youngster…then that’s the way it would be….it didn’t happen to that worlds Superman. It happened to some other guy on some other world.
From time to time, elseworld stories could be set in other verses. And occasionally the guys in the main story telling world could visit other verses…like the JLA/JSA team ups of long ago.
It’s really not “rocket science”. This was the set up in the Silver Age, it worked, it’s a proven recipe.
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[QUOTE=Artemisfanboy;5749752]I was just pointing out the number one problem with the leaked 5g timeline that I thinked killed it in the office. But I acknowlegded it had a lot of other problems and things that didn't make sense.[/quote]
Fair enough.
[quote]
While it's nice idea and has it's merits. I don't think it's practical to expect DC to keep 3-4 main universes straight, when they seem to already have trouble handling one. Maybe they should prove they can handle the current Infinite Frontier universe get it straight, before they try to have additional separate lines for Pre-crisis Multiverse, Post Crisis Universe, and the New 52 Universe. Otherwise I think it could turn into even more of a mess.[/QUOTE]
I don't expect them to have multiple titles dedicated to each universe. One to two titles for each AU is fine. Not that different from how it's done now with the various Tom King minis, Injustice tie in books, the animated series tie in books, the Batman Beyond books, Justice League Infinity and their YA line up of books.
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Does Lucy Lane remember she was married to Ron Troupe and had a son? Is she jealous that Lois now has a son?
The same with Lana Lang. Does she remember being married to Pete Ross and having a son?
Does Clark and Lois remember their sister/friends had children?
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[QUOTE=Will Evans;5750758]Does Lucy Lane remember she was married to Ron Troupe and had a son? Is she jealous that Lois now has a son?
The same with Lana Lang. Does she remember being married to Pete Ross and having a son?
Does Clark and Lois remember their sister/friends had children?[/QUOTE]
Lucy Lane doesn't even remember herself, considering Bendis is completely ignoring her existence.
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[QUOTE=Will Evans;5750758]Does Lucy Lane remember she was married to Ron Troupe and had a son? Is she jealous that Lois now has a son?
The same with Lana Lang. Does she remember being married to Pete Ross and having a son?
Does Clark and Lois remember their sister/friends had children?[/QUOTE]
Like Factor mentioned, Lucy doesn't even remember herself at the moment, so that's not really an issue. ;)
For the supporting casts, I think it's much less likely that they remember any of their past incarnations, unless some creator has a specific story they want to tell about the trauma that comes with remembering past lives or something. Although Rucka tried exploring that in his Lois Lane maxi-series to utterly disappointing results. Man, just thinking about how badly Rucka bungled that book makes me angry.
I think Lois & Clark do remember the past incarnations of their friends and family, but in the same way that you remember how your sister once got a really bad haircut that she wants everyone to forget about.
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Generally, I'm not a huge fan of characters recalling anything about their previous continuities. That way would literally lead to madness for most people, and at the very least lead to some dumb dialog/stories. Better, for the most part, for the lion's share of characters to never even know they had other existences, and even for the ones that do know about it, they should really only know about it in the abstract. I really don't want, say, Aquaman knowing that, in another reality, Black Manta killed his infant son, or Ralph Dibny knowing that, once upon a time that never was, Jean Loring killed his wife for reasons that were never properly explained.
As mentioned upthread, I'm kind of okay with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman having a little more knowledge than everyone else. Their lives have gotten downright mythic/insane at this point, so having them a wee bit more aware of their constantly shifting reality seems fair.
But in the day-to-day storytelling, it really shouldn't come up much at all.
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[QUOTE=ducklord;5751189]Generally, I'm not a huge fan of characters recalling anything about their previous continuities. That way would literally lead to madness for most people, and at the very least lead to some dumb dialog/stories. Better, for the most part, for the lion's share of characters to never even know they had other existences, and even for the ones that do know about it, they should really only know about it in the abstract. I really don't want, say, Aquaman knowing that, in another reality, Black Manta killed his infant son, or Ralph Dibny knowing that, once upon a time that never was, Jean Loring killed his wife for reasons that were never properly explained.
As mentioned upthread, I'm kind of okay with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman having a little more knowledge than everyone else. Their lives have gotten downright mythic/insane at this point, so having them a wee bit more aware of their constantly shifting reality seems fair.
But in the day-to-day storytelling, it really shouldn't come up much at all.[/QUOTE]
This is generally where I'm at as well, although I think Barry, Wally, Hal, John, & Kyle should definitely be in the know as well given their past histories knee-deep in time shenanigans.
And, yeah, in terms of day-to-day storytelling, referencing defunct continuities really isn't necessary unless it makes for a better story. At this point, past continuity should be giant toy box that creators are free to use and readers can figure out how it fits into whatever conception of DCU history they've got in their heads already.
Unless they're written by Grant Morrison, stories about continuity don't tend to make for the most compelling read.