I'm not 100% sure that it qualifies, but Miller's "Batman: Year One." The idea that Wayne had something of a strategy-driven mission to what he was doing just fits better than just randomly bashing criminals to ease his pain.
I'm not 100% sure that it qualifies, but Miller's "Batman: Year One." The idea that Wayne had something of a strategy-driven mission to what he was doing just fits better than just randomly bashing criminals to ease his pain.
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Not sure if this qualifies as a retcon but I liked Dolphin's reintroduction in Rebirth. I liked that they brought back her muteness and streamlined her origin by making her an actual Atlantean (human altered by aliens into a pseudo-Atlantean is way too convoluted for me). Plus making her a sea-changed makes her far more distinct in both appearance and abilities.
In short, Rebirth Dolphin is my all-time favourite version of her.
I grew up with the Modern Age Superman (Man of Steel mini-series - Reign of the Supermen). Having Ma and Pa Kent alive helped to make it relateable. It was perfect for when I was in junior high and high school. Everything after that timeframe is compared to that.
When I was a kid, SUPERBOY was one of my favourite comics. This told stories about Clark Kent living in the town of Smallville, with his foster parents Jonathan and Martha Kent--who had white hair and glasses and looked more like grandparents than parents. They ran a general store, where Clark would often help out.
In fact, in school, when we had to write about what we would be doing in twenty years time and then read that out to the class, I wrote that I would have white hair and run a general store--and when little kids came in the store, I would let them have free candy. I guess I never figured that twenty years was a relatively short time and I wouldn't have white hair by then. This also contradicted my other plan for the future, that I would have a mansion with a cave underneath it, and I would adopt a kid to fight crime with me--but maybe I knew enough to keep this plan secret from the class so no one would guess my alter ego.
I think that having those Superboy stories every month satisfied that need to see Clark in a family situation, where he's nurtured and loved. I didn't need to have that in the stories about Superman, because he was now a grown man and toughened to the vicissitudes of life. I feel like the retcons that brought Clark's adoptive parents back to life were trying to provide what those Superboy stories provided--but it took away from Clark's maturity.
And it seemed like the writers were trying to give him a much easier life--not the one of self-abnegation that he endured in pre-Crisis, but instead a life where Clark's personal needs had to be satisfied and nothing too bad could happen to him. Even the fact that he doesn't remember anything about Krypton--and only learns about it later--removes that suffering that was always with the classic Superman, where he couldn't put such a monumental tragedy out of his mind.
The post-Crisis stories went on to allow Superman to have a marriage with Lois Lane (and also an affair with Wonder Woman) and now even gave him a son--so he gets to perpetuate the happy home life from his youth in Smallville. Call me cold-hearted, but I like to see some fictional characters suffer and not grab the brass ring. The trade off for all that power and responsibility is that Superman doesn't always get what he wants. His suffering and sacrifice keeps him honest.
I'm surprised I didn't think of this one sooner - Jim Gordon having a daughter. I like how that turned out. I just completely forget it was a retcon most of the time.
Yep. Jim having a daughter came out of nowhere. In fact, there were letters that complained about it (I probably would have been one of them if I'd been around at the time). Tony was only seen briefly. Brought back in the bronze age only to be killed off (which is a storytelling device I don't like - bring back characters only to kill them). I also don't like bringing them back to make them evil. So the Gordon boys are rather distastefully used, IMO. Though at least James Jr. wasn't like other characters who were actually good guys before they were brought back evil. I think. I haven't actually read his earlier appearances, but thought they were just cameos.
Last edited by Tzigone; 07-03-2019 at 03:52 AM.
To be fair there were barely any stories focussing on Gordons privat live, before Barabra was introduced.
That's at least a better treatment than Gordons Wife got back than. She at somepoint in the bronze age it was iirc just said that she died a few years ago.
Leslie did not kill Steph but they hid in Africa for a year. It wasn't that good a story, but it rescued 2 characters from the character assassination they got in one the worst stories DC ever produced.
I will second...third? forth? 60th? Jason Todd's origin being redone where it's not just Dick Grayson again... It was bad enough Jason's parents ALSO worked at the circus, but they didn't even TRY with "The Flying Todds".
Jason Todd's Lazarus pit resurrection...I mean I get making sense in a medium like comic books isn't PRIORITY but I feel that a reality warping punch didn't do much for me.
I can't believe no one has said this yet... Mr. Freeze's origin
Lex Luthor: CEO, while being a mad scientist is rather fun. I do find the untouchable corporate mogul to be one that was definitely benefited the character (bonus points to when they could effortlessly mix the two occupations)
Superman and Wonder Woman never dated: I'm probably going to be quite the minority here but I found that to be one of the most boring and predictable pairings in comics...