Age of Characters

[Ascended]

This works for me. Although, I can't help but think that age is probably just a number for Clark.

Honestly, it's just a number for many of them. Clark, Diana, and J'onn are all long lived in many versions and Diana's straight up immortal in some. And a lot of metahumans like Barry are believed to have their lifespans extended due to their powers (just like the surviving JSA members). And for the rest, they're hyper-active physical specimens who spend their whole lives training; it's not out of the question that they could be active long into age ranges where us mere mortals would've settled down for a desk job and a beer gut.

Hell, the vast majority of metahumans could easily have extended lifespans just as a byproduct of their powers. Even someone like Canary, who has a pretty straightforward and simple power, has to have an evolved biology to process and adapt and survive her own abilities. Dinah's skin would have to be tougher to withstand her own sonics (not bulletproof, but definitely thicker than the average dermal layer) her ears would have to process sound differently, etc. Is it hard to believe that her internal organs are also heartier and more durable and would thus add a few extra decades?

And really......I think age is a foolish thing to get hung up on. In the real world, Batman would've died his first week in the cowl. So is it really hard to believe that he's kicking ass at 40? Tom Brady (my man!!!!!) just won his 6th Super Bowl ring at 40, so if he can do that in real life, Bruce can kick people in the face at 45, or 50, or whatever.

It's fiction. It doesnt have to fit reality.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Yeah, as our ability to age better has increased thanks to modern diet, exercise and medicine, the idea of Lois, Clark, Bruce and their contemporaries being in their early 40s isn't going to be such a crazy idea, particularly when a lot of the actors playing them are, too.

[Anthony Shaw]

Honestly, it's just a number for many of them. Clark, Diana, and J'onn are all long lived in many versions and Diana's straight up immortal in some. And a lot of metahumans like Barry are believed to have their lifespans extended due to their powers (just like the surviving JSA members). And for the rest, they're hyper-active physical specimens who spend their whole lives training; it's not out of the question that they could be active long into age ranges where us mere mortals would've settled down for a desk job and a beer gut.

Hell, the vast majority of metahumans could easily have extended lifespans just as a byproduct of their powers. Even someone like Canary, who has a pretty straightforward and simple power, has to have an evolved biology to process and adapt and survive her own abilities. Dinah's skin would have to be tougher to withstand her own sonics (not bulletproof, but definitely thicker than the average dermal layer) her ears would have to process sound differently, etc. Is it hard to believe that her internal organs are also heartier and more durable and would thus add a few extra decades?

And really......I think age is a foolish thing to get hung up on. In the real world, Batman would've died his first week in the cowl. So is it really hard to believe that he's kicking ass at 40? Tom Brady (my man!!!!!) just won his 6th Super Bowl ring at 40, so if he can do that in real life, Bruce can kick people in the face at 45, or 50, or whatever.

It's fiction. It doesnt have to fit reality.

Speaking of Tom Brady, if I applied real world to Batman, I would think such a career would be the equivalent of playing the position of a NFL running back. The wear & tear on the body would be epic.

A person would be lucky if they survived a decade being Batman.

[Ascended]

Speaking of Tom Brady, if I applied real world to Batman, I would think such a career would be the equivalent of playing the position of a NFL running back. The wear & tear on the body would be epic.

A person would be lucky if they survived a decade being Batman.

A person would be lucky to survive a month being Batman. Unlike NFL players, Batman's opposing team use bullets and bombs.

But you're totally right, the physical toll would be very much like that of a running back. If that was all you had to deal with you could do it. It'd cost you but there are players who prove the cost can be paid. But those bullets and bombs add a whole different level to the game.

[phonogram12]

Yeah, as our ability to age better has increased thanks to modern diet, exercise and medicine, the idea of Lois, Clark, Bruce and their contemporaries being in their early 40s isn't going to be such a crazy idea, particularly when a lot of the actors playing them are, too.

I agree, but for whatever reason, DC has been really resistant to age them past their mid-to-late-30's at the very latest. Maybe that's changed in Rebirth? Kinda doubt it since in one of the issues leading up to the non-wedding of Bats and Cats Lois commented that Selina was "So young!" in re to getting married.

[Shamrock Holmes]

Rebirth appears to have reestablished something resembling (because neither editorial not half+ of the writers will bother to check) the status quo c. 2000 or so (with the expection of the Trinity being early members of the JL and potentially Darkseid (rather than Starro or Appelexians being the reasoning for founding), which placed Superman's debut 12 years prior to NML so if he was 25 at debut then he was about 37 during NML (and Bruce was about the same). Per the same time, Dick appears to have been at least 15 when he became Robin (at the beginning of Year 3) if he was at least 18 during Crisis (set in Year 6) and 25 as of NML. This would suggest that Tim is only about 10 years younger Dick and was 4-5 when the Flying Graysons were killed rather than 2-3 as suggested by Chris Miller's DC Timeline sidenotes. However, it confirms that Cissie King-Jones can be no more than 11 at debut as flashbacks require that she was born after the "twelve year earlier" debut of Green Arrow and GL Hal Jordan.

NB: All the above information is taken from the "DCU Timeline" published in Secret Files & Origins #1 (2000) "Guide to the DC Universe 2000". AFAIK, no complete timeline for the post Infinite Crisis revisions was ever published.