Character progression (including growing older) vs Forever the same age?

[BohemiaDrinker]

Let characters grow.

Have really tight continuity.

Do a full, total clean-slate, unapologetic reboot every 15 years.

Invent an excuse for the previous continuity to keep existing and allow it's use ("OH MY GOD, THE MULTIVERSE IS ACTUALLY ROTATING AND EVERY 15 YEARS ANOTHER EARTH TAKES THE SPACE OF THE MAIN EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!" or something).

Have as a tradition that Barry Allen dies at year 7.5 of each universe (or whoever the main Flash at the starting point is).

There, everything, for everybody, forever.

[The Darknight Detective]

The Bronza Age universe got it right, IMO, by having the Earth-1 superheroes young and the first ones on the scene, while Earth-2 had them older and with legacies. Having all of the superheroes on one Earth, however, ensures a reboot once Bruce and Clark close in on middle age.

[byrd156]

Things need to stay static, in mainstream superhero comics.

Characters like BATMAN, AQUAMAN, and SUPERMAN exist for everyone and need to remain open and available to readers of all shoe sizes.

In entertainment things don't need to be a certain way. The only thing they need is money so more stories can be told.

[byrd156]

Let characters grow.

Have really tight continuity.

Do a full, total clean-slate, unapologetic reboot every 15 years.

Invent an excuse for the previous continuity to keep existing and allow it's use ("OH MY GOD, THE MULTIVERSE IS ACTUALLY ROTATING AND EVERY 15 YEARS ANOTHER EARTH TAKES THE SPACE OF THE MAIN EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!" or something).

Have as a tradition that Barry Allen dies at year 7.5 of each universe (or whoever the main Flash at the starting point is).

There, everything, for everybody, forever.

I love/hate it.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I prefer growing older/steady progression than staying the same age forever.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I love/hate it.

So do I.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Dr. Ellingham]

Comics however, have become notorious for refusing to allow characters to grow/age.

I think this would be amongst longtime comic fans who want their favorite fictional characters to mirror their experiences, grow older with them.

For the rest of the world? They consider superheroes as being static, unchanging. Like the Simpsons. Nobody expects the Simpsons to change permanently. Or James Bond. Why would Superman be different?

So, do you think that characters should be able to grow old and pass the mantle on (or at least experiment with it), or keep everything "static", so to speak?

There's no right or wrong approach. DC will continue to explore all of them. Strict continuity. "Progression". Then reboots. New legacies. Deboots.

So the next few years is more of the same- lots of superficial status quo-changing stories that get undone. For now.

But once the Direct Market goes, then interlocking history and inter-related continuity will become much, much less important.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Use the Multiverse well, have Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman migrate to the latest Earth every decade or so to be reborn as their newest selves while the prior continuities become the newest Earth-1 and Earth-2 and Earth-Whatever...

[Jon Clark]

What would DC have to gain from ageing Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne out of the DC Universe and doing alternate universe comics with them instead?

A re-energized fanbase.

Imagine if in 1992 DC had decided to leave Clark/Kal dead and actually given the Superman franchise over to Kon-El, John Henry Irons, or the Eradicator. No resurrection, no reboot- just a DC Universe where the traditional Superman was gone. maybe this boosts sales, maybe it doesn't for the Superman line, but imagine the sales on Knightfall when people realize that DC just might really retire Bruce permanently after Bane breaks his back. Or the sales on Flash during Terminal velocity after prople realize that both Clark and Btuce really were taken off the table for the immediate future. Imagine if the next time there is a big change in the status quo of the DCU that there is no guarantee that things will be back to "normal" in a year or so.