Would It Be Easier If There Was No Shared Universe?

[The Dying Detective]

Revision: I didn't think this through unfortunately

While mulling over the convoluted continuity and how often the editorial fouls up though admittedly that's just human error at work. I came into a thought would continuity be a lot easier if there was no shared universe? And when I say this mean just plant the characters on separate Earths where they are the only characters that exist and matter there. Superman and anyone related to him can live on Earth S. Batman and anyone related to him can live on Earth B. Wonder Woman and anyone related to her can live on Earth WW. Green Lantern and anyone related to him can live on Earth GL. The Flash and anyone related to him can live on Earth F. Green Arrow and anyone related to him can live on Earth GA. Aquaman and anyone related to him can live on Earth A. And if certain characters who cannot sustain a solo title they can just share a book, like the Charlton characters who aside from Captain Atom have not been able to have successful solo titles can just share a title and live in their own world, Earth CH. Heck if you want to give the Atom a solo book he and anyone related to him can live on Earth TA. Yes this concept is basically the same as DC's Earth M concept and that brings me to the pros and cons of this idea

Pros

-No books will be tied down by what happens in another book because each world is it's own one. i.e. character A died in this book so he or she cannot used until something brings them back to life.

-Continuity will still be convoluted but at the very least other books from other franchises won't be stepping on each others toes because something happened in book A that affects book B. And continuity could be more straight forward.

-Writers will have more freedom to do as they please.

-Crossovers (depending on your perspective) will be more interesting again. I never quite liked the team-up and events because they don't have the level of culture shock and uniqueness that they used to back then and if a crossover happened it would be something special (well to me at least).

-Spin-off titles are still possible even team books.

Cons

- Team books while possible will not be able to add characters from other franchises. Nor can team books revolving around cross franchising like the Teen Titans and Justice League exist (though Earth One Teen Titans is an attempt to try and make the Teen Titans without Dick Grayson).

- Relationships between characters will be like pen pal relationships.

- No inter-franchise pairings.

- Spin-off titles will be confined to the character's designated Earth.

And that's all I have at least for now. So what do you think will such an idea work? Do you hate it? Let your thoughts be known. And if you have more pros and cons say it.

[Trey Strain]

You could still do team comics. Just say that what happens in one comic has no bearing on the others.

You could even do crossovers. Just publish the event issues as one-offs and say they don't affect the other comics.

[The Dying Detective]

You could still do team comics. Just say that what happens in one comic has no bearing on the others.

You could even do crossovers. Just publish the event issues as one-offs and say they don't affect the other comics.

Crossover are doable but for a team comic to be sustainable the characters must breathe the same air as the other members what I am proposing will not allow such a thing.

[Trey Strain]

Crossover are doable but for a team comci to be sustainable the characters must breathe the same air as the other members what I am proposing will not allow such a thing.

You can't throw away the team titles and just publish solos. That won't happen. But what you CAN do is to hermetically seal all the titles off from each other.

[The Dying Detective]

You can't throw away the team titles and just publish solos. That won't happen. But what you CAN do is to hermetically seal all the titles off from each other.

How can you do that while resisting the temptation to tie the teams to some sort of continuity? There is one alternative Birds of Prey can just be made of Batman related characters with no characters from other franchises. But that's only one. And also hermetically sealing off books is the very crux of this idea I had.

[Not BAMF]

Batman in particular makes no sense existing in a comic book superhero universe. I don't mind Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, etc all existing together, but Batman and his "corner" of the universe? They should have their own disconnected world.

[The Dying Detective]

Batman in particular makes no sense existing in a comic book superhero universe. I don't mind Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, etc all existing together, but Batman and his "corner" of the universe? They should have their own disconnected world.

Technically no character was designed to even live on the same world as the others. But what makes you think other are more suited to share the same Earth?

[bat39]

I don't think the shared universe needs to be done away with. But I do think there's a need to dial it back a bit.

We need to slide back to the Silver Age/Bronze Age a bit. Solo books focus on the protagonists and supporting characters from that corner of the universe. Of course there will be guest stars, but for the most part, it'll be kept on the low side.

Team books will of course have individual characters reflect what they are going through in their solo books, but will otherwise focus more on team-stuff and the wider DCU.

Above all, there needs to be a ban on company-wide crossover events and line-wide initiatives.

[Trey Strain]

Batman in particular makes no sense existing in a comic book superhero universe. I don't mind Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, etc all existing together, but Batman and his "corner" of the universe? They should have their own disconnected world.

I proposed something like that here a long time ago. A lot of people thought it was the worst idea they had ever heard. I think it would get a better reception now.

http://community.comicbookresources....-powered-brand

[Trey Strain]

Above all, there needs to be a ban on company-wide crossover events and line-wide initiatives.

DC will stop publishing events when people stop getting excited and buying them, which is never. The answer is to seal off the events from the rest of the titles. Make them elseworld stories or something like that.

[DrNewGod]

For casual customers, this would work. For dependable customers, it won't. It robs the customer segment that most routinely plops down their money of one of the things they're buying: immersion in a large, complex, interwoven fantasy setting.

It was not always so, but has become so.

[The Dying Detective]

I don't think the shared universe needs to be done away with. But I do think there's a need to dial it back a bit.

We need to slide back to the Silver Age/Bronze Age a bit. Solo books focus on the protagonists and supporting characters from that corner of the universe. Of course there will be guest stars, but for the most part, it'll be kept on the low side.

Team books will of course have individual characters reflect what they are going through in their solo books, but will otherwise focus more on team-stuff and the wider DCU.

Above all, there needs to be a ban on company-wide crossover events and line-wide initiatives.

Well what I am proposing can allow company wide crossover events but due to being segregated they will be trickier to pull off and may even discourage them completely. But don't team books affect solo books too?

[Trey Strain]

But don't team books affect solo books too?

Not unless you specify that they do. Just stop specifying that they do, that's all.

[The Dying Detective]

For casual customers, this would work. For dependable customers, it won't. It robs the customer segment that most routinely plops down their money of one of the things they're buying: immersion in a large, complex, interwoven fantasy setting.

It was not always so, but has become so.

So you have to make a choice then would you win more if you cater to the casual reader or the dependable customers who like weird and complicated. I think a person can get into a series like Nero Wolfe and Sherlock Holmes better than superhero comics.

[The Dying Detective]

Not unless you specify that they do. Just stop specifying that they do, that's all.

If those events don't get alluded to at it could work. And as long as nobody dies or get incapacitated for some reason it could work. But no writer seems capable of resisting that except one who I will not name here but I can say is one of the most arrogant men I have ever encountered.