I hate to say it, but this is probably never going to happen. As long as readers become writers and editors, they will always have a bias and bring something in from a favorite story from their childhood (*cough* *cough* Geoff Johns *cough* *cough*). This is just the nature of the industry.
The only correct answer.
Last edited by phonogram12; 07-22-2019 at 10:23 AM.
Keep in mind that you have about as much chance of changing my mind as I do of changing yours.
Ha! And yet it will somehow still be a world where a 35-year-old Batman plays father figure to a 26-year-old Dick Grayson because they refuse to age him past 40 unless it's an Elseworld.
I had the same issues. This was probably the first sign for me that readers were never going to receive any sort of clear cut timeline that ever made a lick of sense.
Last edited by phonogram12; 07-22-2019 at 10:30 AM.
Keep in mind that you have about as much chance of changing my mind as I do of changing yours.
While I'm still against any sort of timeline, this is where a multiverse would come in handy. I mean, you could basically have an entire world for your favorite version of any character. A world where Dick is still in the short pants! BAM! Earth-32! A world where an aged Batman takes on a red haired teenage girl as Robin? BAM! Earth-28! An earth where Bruce is actually age appropriate to be the father of a 20-something Dick Grayson! BAM! Earth-2!
The possibilities are endless!
Keep in mind that you have about as much chance of changing my mind as I do of changing yours.
It contradicted decades of well-established DC lore and common sense: Robin/Dick Grayson was originally presented as the first of the teen sidekicks. The ZERO HOUR timeline had Robin/Dick as one of the final ones to emerge, after Wally, Roy, and Garth had all been at it for a while. Nor did it make much sense that Wally's career as the main adult Flash was, by ZERO HOUR, already longer than Barry's entire (Silver/Bronze Age) Flash career. The ZERO HOUR timeline not only overcompresses events, but distorts them in ways that don't jibe with common DC lore.
Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
Buried Alien - THE FASTEST POST ALIVE!
First CBR Appearance (Historical): November, 1996
First CBR Appearance (Modern): April, 2014
They should hire Greg Weisman to construct the new DCU timeline. He already has the experience .
Yeah, for every Roy Thomas or Kurt Busiek, there've been a legion of hacks. People forget that some of the most influential early writers were folk stopping by to make a few bucks whilst trying to break into crime/sci-fi/etc magazine and novel writing.
Wonder what would happen if DC or Marvel started prospecting at some of the writer/fan conventions of other genres? Set aside some of the lower rung properties (The Metal Men, Ragman, Moonbow, Powergirl), give eager-to-earn writers exhibiting what-might-be-potential a short bible, and let 'em rip. Then put the results in front of some of the best artists on the payroll and see who says "Huh. I think I'd like to try that."
You mean, "the bloody attempt?" Sorry, couldn't help myself.
On a more serious note, there is more than one reason that Batman, et al. have to remain viably young in their comics. Their brands are powerful, and DC/WB/AT&T isn't going to give that up if they can help it. The stories of The Last Son of Krypton, and The Dark Knight, and The Amazon Princess are simply more iconic than any heir is likely to be (be it The Cadmus Kid, The First Sidekick, or The Imaginary Girl Turned [hell, I don't know what to characterize Donna as]).
This to me is the case for Multiverse. If we can't just Leave It Alone, then (IMO) the answer is to create a New Earth from scratch, no more than 5 years into its heroic age, with the Justice League just forming. Allow Earth 1 to be treated as Earth 2 was pre-Crisis; a sort of what-happened-to-...-verse. That lets you write stories of succession and coming of age in its own setting. But, as this is a business, we have to let the most valuable IP be available and accessible to the new readers.
We long-time fans may find that frustrating, but it's probably what's best for the brands if we'd like to see this hobby continue to prosper. New readers have to be able to experience the simple, easily relatable core characters as their own.
Keep in mind that you have about as much chance of changing my mind as I do of changing yours.
Keep in mind: we have four comic ages with four different versions of all characters. Golden, Silver, Modern, and New 52. Each one after the Golden Age is an update of the previous age. The oldest characters in the New 52 are New 52 Post Infinite Crisis Superman and New 52 Post Infinite Crisis Lois Lane. Everyone else in the New 52 are still their updated versions.
I say pick a comic age that you want back and go from there.
I said it before and I'll say it again, COIE damaged the DC Universe in the long run.
No matter how many reboots, new origins, reinterpretations or suit redesigns. In the end, he will always be SUPERMAN
Credit for avatar goes to zclark