Which characters' best stories are behind them.

[Sutekh]

Every time somebody says something like that about a character, a team of talented creators comes around and proves them completely wrong.

Yeah. You never know when someone is going to have an amazing idea for a storyline involving some character you thought was 'done.'

OTOH, there seems to be a push to tell stories for certain characters when there are no actual stories burning to be told, just to keep them on the shelves monthly, and that, IMO, tires the franchise more than anything, as the weight of lacklustre 'written to pad out the monthly requirement by writers who don't really much care and are just cashing checks' stories builds up over years.

[Ascended]

that's not to say good or great stories can't be done with these characters but which characters do you think have had their best and/or most definitive stories already told. simple question, answer as detailed as you wish.

Not reading all these pages tonight but I bet there's some great insight here.

Anyway, I think it largely depends on DC. Any characters' best stories could be behind them if DC fails to put quality creators on them, experiment, challenge themselves, etc. But if DC tries? For all we know the next great Superman or Green Lantern epic is just around the corner and it'll redefine those franchises the same way stories in the past have.

I do make a (soft) exception for certain characters who were really embodiments of their time. Lobo is a great example here; he's such a product of the 90's and all the troupes that were common then. Odds are his best days are behind him (even though he can still be used to good effect today). Characters in that mold seem to struggle a lot once the decade that made them relevant passes. But even then you never know when some fad or trend will return, or if a creator will come out of nowhere with a new spin that reinvigorates a character.

[Masterff]

I want to say Superman, because despite being the OG ahd having been around for nine decades (!), I don't think he has many truly CLASSIC stories to begin with that aren't out of continuity/Elseworlds type stories. But the not too long ago ended Tomasi and Jurgens stories were SO GOOD, until you-know-who came along and ruined everything...

I have to say that in my eyes it was nice to have Conner there.

I like Conner, because he is a kind of modern approach to Superman...But he is for me more the Superman with the bad boy charme, more attitude etc.

I like the idea that Clark remains classic Superman, while they use Conner for the kind of Superman with the bad boy charme, driving maybe a Harley or so sometimes

[j9ac9k]

It's interesting to see people's reasoning frequently falls into one of three categories for this thread:
-- Someone's already told such a great story with the character that it's hard to think of it being outdone.
-- The character has changed so much that the best stories can't be told with this version of the character
-- DC has no faith in this character and will likely never give them the same spotlight

[Sutekh]

I like the idea that Clark remains classic Superman, while they use Conner for the kind of Superman with the bad boy charm, driving maybe a Harley or so sometimes.

I do prefer that classic Clark remain the 'big boy scout' and kind of inherently good-hearted, with any stories about angry young alienated youth being relegated to Conner, instead of retconned back onto Clark. I don't really *want* to see a young angry Clark with his glowing red eyes and very literal sense of 'alienation'...

[Sutekh]

This thread is about characters, not plot devices. Doomsday wasn't even a good plot device.

True. The Death of Superman, IMO, would have been more meaningful if it had happened as a result of one of his established villains. Imagine the crowing and celebration (from him!) if Luthor had been responsible! Imagine the utter snap and bitter denial and hypercrazed attempts to do it again *when Superman came back* and 'ruined' Luthors crowning achievement/moment of glory/'title' as 'the man who killed Superman?' Oh, it could have been glorious!

Instead, they create some nobody / plot device with no personality to do it. Boring. No controversy. No real potential as a character. Where can you go from that? Straight to Villain Decay, for you, Doomsday, that 'New Villain Smell' will only fade.