Are there any characters who you feel should be retired?

[oasis1313]

I'd of course be first in line for wanting Tim Drake to retire (although I like death for him even better, but he'd just come back). The Joker needs a good rest; he's overused and more villains should be developed. The suggested idea of Killiwog as Green Lantern is appealing; I'd like more strange-looking or aesthetically challenged heroes.

[Buried Alien]

I'm sure there are some other people who would love to name staff at DC who should be retired, but best not to go there . . .

It already happened; check out Post # 11.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Frontier]

I've never really seen much point in "retiring" or killing off major characters considering the propensity for them to get brought out of retirement or back to life. I can see how some characters might need a break every now and then, but those usually last only 2-3 years.

[Denirac]

I’d say (and it’ll be Contraversial) Barry Allen.... But Not Because I just want Wally back in the Spotlight, I’d argue Barry should take a seat so that we can have an expanded Focus on the Flash Family as a Whole

[Killerbee911]

I'd argue there are no BAD characters, just some who hasn't found the right creator the lend them the voice that resonates.

No they are BAD characters. Yes fiction can allow you give a character a personality transplant but nothing is wrong with just scratching out the character and creating a new one. We can pretend like it is same character when new writer "fixes a character" but reality is it is a new character in a old skin. Most of the times we don't see it that is the magic of writing but it is obvious when you pay attention. Psylocke is the best example because you can literally see the two different characters the asian one and white one.

There is no need to be hoarders with characters,You can throw away concepts not every character concept needs to be saved. Characters are very much like old houses,You can choose renovate the whole thing keep the foundation and the parts things you like,You can choose to break house all way down to foundation and throw away everything except one main thing core thing. Sometimes you just move and buy new house. If you have enough money you can renovate any home but why spend a million dollars and a year to get the same results as just knock down the house and rebuilding or just move which is cheaper,gives you the same results and less time.

The point is this if it is old historic house who has classic features and it is work art but just got old.You renovate and restore and add the modern day touches where it makes sense something that would be your Alan Scott, Wildcat, Jay Garrick. But then maybe you have a newer house a Hal Jordan or Barry Allen which has one really strong concept you want to kept,You throw out everything else but keep core. The last part is one you guys don't seem to like maybe you have a character like a Bunker or even say Aqualad Tempest. You can throw a lot of time and effort in fix them or can just chuck them and make a new character which give all of things you want from the character but none of baggage and it will not take you anywhere near time either. Just because you can fix every character doesn't mean should fix every character or it is worth the effort to fix every character. I have seen DC do the Lord's work on Starro and Mr Mind but honestly they could have accomplish the same thing with new characters and not have to do the writing exercise to make those characters work. If takes a amazing writer to make character "work" then the back history might not be worth effort and blank slate character without the inherent problems is the better choice.

Not everything has to be saved

[mrbrklyn]

The only characters whom I support being retired are those whose portrayals are grounded in racism, sexism, homophobia, or mocking those who have developmental challenges. Captain Marvel's Golden Age "sidekick" Tugboat, as one famous example, should never see the light of day again. Nor should the Bronze Age FLASH villain Big Sir (unless heavily modified and updated a la in THE FLASH TV series).

On the other hand, Thomas Kamalku has been sufficiently updated/modified that he can continue to be a supporting character to Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

You didn't like the Movie the Green Mile?

[mrbrklyn]

I wouldn't put it that harsh but it would be nice for them to retire Hal for a bit and let the other Lanterns have some fun.

That would suck but I LOVE to retire all the earth GLs except Hal Jorndan (Who is after all, The Green Lantern) and John Steward. It bothers me that Steward was actually openly created as a racial quota by the Guardians, but as a back up GL, he is alright. I just wish he was more lined up with a genuine African-American charactorization, as he was when he was created, rather than the more mainstream version we've been force fed.

The rest of the GLs, Kyle was a bad idea and a misdirection of the Green Lantern legacy to begin with. The others are diversity characters that water down the entire concept of the Green Lantern. It is flat out lazy writing to a real world problem of getting more diversity into the comics. It is so easy now to just whip up a new ring. No more, greatest man without fear... just draw up different ethnicities and give them a ring.

Every UN delegate should be able to assign a ring to the individal of their choice. There, diversity issues solved. No need to create any new characters like Static.

[mrbrklyn]

I’d say (and it’ll be Contraversial) Barry Allen.... But Not Because I just want Wally back in the Spotlight, I’d argue Barry should take a seat so that we can have an expanded Focus on the Flash Family as a Whole

the flash family was another bad idea.

[mrbrklyn]

I feel the same about The Reverse Flash. From what I understand, the TV show also has/had? been overdoing him as well.

that is true. He has been ramped up in power endlessly. And there are like 10 of them now. It is just confusing and boring.

[mrbrklyn]

The one character I would probably currently retire is the Ray. It is so poorly conceived and badly written that they should do everythign they can to just forget it. Every time they have had a chance to do this character, they messed it up. They had a good shot at him with Joe Q was reviving him from Freedom Fighters, but they killed it.

If I was predisposed to doing a Homosexual character, not that I am predisposed to do one, but if I was, I think I would look at doing the Black Condor. But I wouldn't start him up as some disfunctional self involved teen having a coming out of the closet fantasy. I would give this character real depth, and drop all the cheap cliches. You could, perhaps, ground him in a background of the 1960's Greenwich Village.

[LP22]

Who hurt you?

Exactly, and in grateful that he isnt in charge of the DCU.

YJ 4LIFE

LOL by the looks of it your the ones who are hurt it's an opinion thread dont like it then move on

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Barry Allen. There was no reason for him to come back in the first place. Wally had already surpassed him. If it wasn't for Dan and Geoff's nostalgia he would not be back. The most heroic death in comics should not have been undone.

I'd probably retire some GL's, there are just way too many of them.

I'd probably thin out the Bat family a bit, Duke and Harper can go. I'd pull Azrael out and return the character to his roots.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

The silver age characters should have been retired a long time ago similar to how they supplanted the golden age. But we are 50 years too late. Best option is to maybe try that in an alternate universe idea. A mix of DC Earth one and Bruce Timm's JL Gods and Monsters.

I'd probably put the legacy characters on hold as they need a massive rethinking/rebranding. I dont mind the idea of legacy characters but i don't need them to be so identical or interchangeable. I rather give them more of a chance to stabd on their own than be stuck in the shadows of the original holder or the editorial preference.

[The Darknight Detective]

The only characters whom I support being retired are those whose portrayals are grounded in racism, sexism, homophobia, or mocking those who have developmental challenges. Captain Marvel's Golden Age "sidekick" Tugboat, as one famous example, should never see the light of day again. Nor should the Bronze Age FLASH villain Big Sir (unless heavily modified and updated a la in THE FLASH TV series).

If they're heavily modified, even a character like Steamboat could come back. Chop Chop was a lot different when I was a kid compared to when my father read about the Blackhawks, i.e.

As for retiring/killing off characters, I just let DC management make the decision for me (since I have never understood the take-my-marbles-and-go-home mentality regarding favorite characters). Having said that, retiring is always preferable to killing, IMO.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Captain Marvel's Golden Age "sidekick" Tugboat . . .

Actually, his name was Steamboat.


(from America's Greatest Comics #2, cover-dated February, 1942)