What is your view of headcanon?

[superduperman]

Are you for it? Against it? Do you use it? If so, what for? When is it okay and when do you think it is not?

[stargazer01]

I find head canon very useful and fun when we don't have all the answers. Sometimes there is some room to fill in with our imagination.

[Clark_Kent]

I think if it works for you, go for it. Just don't expect everyone else to accept it in discussions.

[Jon Clark]

The problem with headcanon is that the writers at DC keep ignoring it.

[DochaDocha]

One the one hand, if it makes you enjoy fiction more, then might as well make a headcanon.

On the other hand, part of me feels like it's a bit of stubborn foolishness to see what's written/presented before you and choosing to ignore it and believing what you want. It's almost the fan equivalent of covering your ears and saying "LA LA LA LA LA, I can't hear you, LA LA LA LA."

[stargazer01]

One the one hand, if it makes you enjoy fiction more, then might as well make a headcanon.

On the other hand, part of me feels like it's a bit of stubborn foolishness to see what's written/presented before you and choosing to ignore it and believing what you want. It's almost the fan equivalent of covering your ears and saying "LA LA LA LA LA, I can't hear you, LA LA LA LA."

But sometimes what's written and/or presented isn't black or white. Sometimes there is room for a more indepth interpretation. Sometimes what said contradicts body language.

I don't try to change the facts presented at me, but sometimes those facts are more flexible than it seems.

[sunofdarkchild]

The problem with headcanon is that the writers at DC keep ignoring it.

So basically the same as regular canon.

[Vakanai]

Are you for it? Against it? Do you use it? If so, what for? When is it okay and when do you think it is not?

For it. Not against it. I use it. All the heroes. It's okay whenever you prefer one version of characterization or events, and not okay if you try and use it to debate other nerds.

Seriously, I'm all about headcanon. DC has made a ton of hits and a ton of misses, why should I keep the misses in my head as the way things went down just because it's current continuity? I'm not writing for them, I'm just reading comics. So I just cherry pick my favorite stuff from my favorite stories and say that's how I'm going to imagine and remember it.

Edit - Reading through the rest of the thread, that's easy. Sure I hate that they made Superman a dad, but I don't buy the monthly floppies, I buy trades. There's so much Superman material out there for me to discover that I can spend years digging into Superman's lore and get new (new to me) stories without having to worry about Superman having a kid (bad, BAD idea). And that's not even counting all the elseworlds/imaginary stories/alternate universe Superman stories, stories that revisit Superman's past, or a reboot coming in and changing things for the better (or at least what I consider better - a childless Superman). I don't need headcanon for that, I got plenty to help me ignore the super-child. And if we're stuck with Jon forever? Hell, maybe I'll change my mind about Supes having a kid and he'll grow on me. Stranger things have happened in Superman comics.

[Miles To Go]

And if we're stuck with Jon forever?

Hopefully we are.

[Vakanai]

Hopefully we are.

Hopefully we're not. But that's the thing with comics, we can disagree and still get something good out of it.
But come on reboot!

[Ascended]

Are you for it? Against it? Do you use it? If so, what for? When is it okay and when do you think it is not?

Hell yeah I'm all for it. There's eighty years worth of material for these characters, thousands of individual issues, hundreds of creative voices.......you can't absorb all that, and head canon allows you to filter the stuff that sticks out the most.

Plus, if it helps you enjoy what you're reading, well, that's all the justification one needs.

I'm a little vague on how you're defining "head canon" though. I mean, there's literary analysis; where you read into what's on the page and find more/deeper meaning. And then there's ignoring what's on the page or "changing" it in your mind so it's more palpable to you. Literary analysis, I think, is pretty necessary for comics because you have to internalize almost everything, while prose tends to provide a deeper insight. Ignoring what's on the page because you just dont like it and pretending it's different....that just leads, in my opinion, to misunderstanding the IP.

For myself, I have no issue with the analysis. Actually, a lot of the opinions I have that're in the minority at CBR are things I only came to approve of after analyzing the history (Clark killing is a chief example; dude's got a bigger body count than a lot of us realize). I don't get down with ignoring stuff. Clark's married and he's got a kid whether I like it or not. He's a good, attentive, Rockwell-ean father whether I think that fits his history and classic characterization or not. Ignoring it wont change that. But if that's what some fans need to get through an issue, who am I to judge?

[superduperman]

Hell yeah I'm all for it. There's eighty years worth of material for these characters, thousands of individual issues, hundreds of creative voices.......you can't absorb all that, and head canon allows you to filter the stuff that sticks out the most.

Plus, if it helps you enjoy what you're reading, well, that's all the justification one needs.

I'm a little vague on how you're defining "head canon" though. I mean, there's literary analysis; where you read into what's on the page and find more/deeper meaning. And then there's ignoring what's on the page or "changing" it in your mind so it's more palpable to you. Literary analysis, I think, is pretty necessary for comics because you have to internalize almost everything, while prose tends to provide a deeper insight. Ignoring what's on the page because you just dont like it and pretending it's different....that just leads, in my opinion, to misunderstanding the IP.

For myself, I have no issue with the analysis. Actually, a lot of the opinions I have that're in the minority at CBR are things I only came to approve of after analyzing the history (Clark killing is a chief example; dude's got a bigger body count than a lot of us realize). I don't get down with ignoring stuff. Clark's married and he's got a kid whether I like it or not. He's a good, attentive, Rockwell-ean father whether I think that fits his history and classic characterization or not. Ignoring it wont change that. But if that's what some fans need to get through an issue, who am I to judge?

I'm mostly talking about changing stuff in your own head. If you don't like something, for instance. I don't necessarily see filling in the blanks as headcanon so much as a necessity. If a story doesn't tell you something, you kind of have to do that yourself. Take, for instance, All Star Superman. Was he Superboy? We don't know. Was he a member of the Legion? Don't know that either. How did he find Krypto? Just to use the most obvious example. This is more along the lines of simply not liking something so you change it in your head.

[Ascended]

I'm mostly talking about changing stuff in your own head. If you don't like something, for instance. I don't necessarily see filling in the blanks as headcanon so much as a necessity. If a story doesn't tell you something, you kind of have to do that yourself. Take, for instance, All Star Superman. Was he Superboy? We don't know. Was he a member of the Legion? Don't know that either. How did he find Krypto? Just to use the most obvious example. This is more along the lines of simply not liking something so you change it in your head.

Okay, then in that case I can't really agree with the practice. I mean, its one thing to take what's on the page and try to find the unsaid undercurrent that'll bring you from your perception of the character (point A) to the actions the character takes in the narrative (point B) and quite another thing entirely to pretend that what is on the page happened differently, or not at all, because it doesn't fit your perception.

Like, in my opinion Superman was never treated as a family man. Historically he's got a pretty bad record with kin. But now he's all Norman Rockwell Superdad Americana. It goes against how I perceive the character and his history and I've had to imagine what events took place in Jon's youth to get Clark to this place he's at now. That's my head canon; that Clark had to go through this journey to become a good parent, because it doesnt come naturally to him. But that's just trying to make sense of where we are in the comics; it'd be another thing entirely if I decided that Jon doesn't exist at all and I tried to blank out all the panels and pages with him in them, or tried to pretend that Clark was talking to Conner or Kara instead of Jon. That makes me feel like maybe it's time to stop reading the comic, yknow?

But thats me. Like I said, I personally dont care how a individual gets down with their comics. Who am I to tell you how to enjoy them? As long as you dont come at me trying to prove a point with claims that're only supported in your imagination, it's all good.

[Artemisfanboy]

Well I definitely have a DC universe as it should exist inside my head. I also realize that outside of the fantasy where I'm in charge it'll never be the canon DCU. And even if I where in charge I'd probably be forced to make compromises. I've overall become very jaded and sporadic with what series I follow and pay attention to. Strictly speaking the version of the DCU I fell in love with ended with Flashpoint/the New 52. Right now I'm a bit worked up and nervous over the changes with Jon and potentially Lois and Clark's relationship, I've even ended up writing mini-fixfic drabbles. I guess just feel more emotionally attached in this case. because this Lois and Clark with Jon where introduced during convergence as being the post crisis Lois and Clark. So guess I'm a ball of contradictions being detached in most areas while being attached in this specific one. It may get to a point where I stop paying attention what's going on again and just bury myself in my personal head canon again.

[Stanlos]

Are you for it? Against it? Do you use it? If so, what for? When is it okay and when do you think it is not?

At this rate, all we will have IS headcanon what with TPTB continuing to pooh on the characters (wally and Nightwing are the latest victims) and the obvious absence of ideas. I just finished a League trade centering on--and I $#!+ you not--a "Cosmic DOOR KNOB".

Let that sink in.