What won't be retconned in the future? I think that's the easier question, like Krypton exploding for example.
A bat! That's it! It's an omen.. I'll shall become a bat!
Pre-CBR Reboot Join Date: 10-17-2010
Pre-CBR Reboot Posts: 4,362
THE CBR COMMUNITY STANDARDS & RULES ~ So... what's your excuse now?
I think it depends on how it's handled. Having your parents around can potentially make things even more difficult for you depending on the situation.
I mean, his entire planet got blown up so I think one way or another there's going to be a level of bittersweetness in Superman's life.Again, it adds a sense of bitter sweetness that lends a bit more credence to his stance that you can overcome obstacles and be hopeful. The death of a parent/loved one is sad, but also part of life and nobody, not even Superman, can prevent it. It's an important life lesson to instill in a character who struggles off and on with the perception of being considered too powerful and not having enough relateable challenges in his life. Bringing them back undoes that bit of character development for him with little to no gain in exchange. At least with Jonathan, you can probably get away with splitting the difference and leaving Martha alive.
If you want to do a story where a loved one dies and Superman can't do anything about it, then that's fair, but you could probably do that with anyone instead of just the Kent's and I don't think it's a lesson that is necessary for every Superman story.
When has them being around ever posed a difficulty? Beyond just being more civilian loved ones that could potentially be harmed by enemies?
He doesn't have any memories of Krypton though, so while it's sad it doesn't effect him nearly as much as it does Kara. Why not have have both the destruction of Krypton and the death of the Kents/Jonathan? It's not like they are two events that happen back to back in short succession with nothing in between. He has a happy life with them and then they/Jonathan dies, but said happy life allows him to grief and be well adjusted and cherish the time he had with them.
Nobody's asking for it to be in every Superman story. An event in his life is not every story.
Why do it with anyone else when the Kents, specifically Jonathan, have already filled that role for significant stretches of time? The alternative would be to sacrifice one of the other less expendable supporting characters or some one-shot character nobody cares about. And why keep them around/go to the trouble of bringing them back to be sounding boards when you can do it with anyone else?
Yeah Krypton’s death was only a tragedy for Supes when he considered himself Kryptonian first and foremost, with Clark Kent just being a disguise. In the modern era of Supes considering himself human it really doesn’t pack the same punch for him personally anymore, which is where the Kents deaths comes in.
Beast Boy being a monster.
Donna Troy's backstory(hopefully for the last time)