"Family" size when is enough enough for you?

[9th.]

I think this is an area where DC Comics stumbles a lot, because the company tends to go overboard with this, and tries to pass it off by saying, "Well, we're about legacies." No you're not. That's just a stupid situation you got yourself into. You can say that Power Rangers is about legacy, or that Castlevania is about legacy, because things truly do move on with different characters. When it's Juste Belmont's time to hunt Dracula, Simon Belmont isn't still there trying to do it, too. There's cognitive dissonance with DC. It tries to move on while trying to keep things the same, and you end up with a Batman who MUST be, like 50 years old, but the stories keep acting like he hasn't aged at all, and redundant characters just keep stacking up on top of each other.

The age thing does throw me off, the old guard should be older. I know it's comic books but you can't have adult sidekicks and teenage children and still be 30.

[Frontier]

I think at this point having a "family" of heroes and sidekicks is basically an established convention of DC as a mythos and universe, since practically every prominent hero has them with few exceptions.

[manwhohaseverything]

I like biiiiig and colourful casts. So, family size isn't an issue for me. It gets boring reading about same people.

[docmidnite]

I think this is an area where DC Comics stumbles a lot, because the company tends to go overboard with this, and tries to pass it off by saying, "Well, we're about legacies." No you're not. That's just a stupid situation you got yourself into. You can say that Power Rangers is about legacy, or that Castlevania is about legacy, because things truly do move on with different characters. When it's Juste Belmont's time to hunt Dracula, Simon Belmont isn't still there trying to do it, too. There's cognitive dissonance with DC. It tries to move on while trying to keep things the same, and you end up with a Batman who MUST be, like 50 years old, but the stories keep acting like he hasn't aged at all, and redundant characters just keep stacking up on top of each other.

Umm… Legacy is just another word for tradition. I went to the same university as my father and Grandfather to carry on the family tradition/legacy and didn’t have to wait until they both dead to do so. So no, you can still have characters carry on the tradition/legacy of a character without having to kill off the original character. Alan Scott and Jade are a perfect example of this.

[Lee]

It's not passing the torch if everyone has their own torch.

The story of three generations of men attending the same university is one of tradition/legacy. A story of a grandfather, father and son all attending the same university at the same time isn't.

[docmidnite]

It's not passing the torch if everyone has their own torch.

The story of three generations of men attending the same university is one of tradition/legacy. A story of a grandfather, father and son all attending the same university at the same time isn't.

Legacy doesn’t mean you have to kill off the original character. Do you have to kill off Alan Scott so Jade can carry on his legacy and tradition? Do you have to kill off Dick Grayson (since he was the first Robin) so Damian can carry on his legacy and tradition? No, you don’t.

[Vampire Savior]

Umm… Legacy is just another word for tradition. I went to the same university as my father and Grandfather to carry on the family tradition/legacy and didn’t have to wait until they both dead to do so. So no, you can still have characters carry on the tradition/legacy of a character without having to kill off the original character. Alan Scott and Jade are a perfect example of this.

Okay, if you went to a university, I assume you know how to read. Where did I post anything about killing off characters?

I swear, I see this all the time. You say one thing, and people literally act like you said something you never did.

[Lee]

Do you have to kill off Alan Scott so Jade can carry on his legacy and tradition?

Yes. Or retire him.

[Flash Gordon]

I think too many costumed "family members" get in the way of a good story. I like characters to have a diverse supporting cast full of everyday people from all walks of life. Not just a cast of fellow superheroes, unless ya know, it's the Justice League.

[Lee]

I think too many costumed "family members" get in the way of a good story. I like characters to have a diverse supporting cast full of everyday people from all walks of life. Not just a cast of fellow superheroes, unless ya know, it's the Justice League.

Agreed. I hate how the human element has been increasingly lost in super-hero stories over the years. These stories need to be inhabited by ordinary people in a recognisable world. The super-powered people should be the extraordinary, not the default setting.

[docmidnite]

Yes. Or retire him.

Umm… no. Jade has been carrying on his tradition just fine for the last 40+ years with Alan doing what he does best.
Also not every character needs a supporting cast. Captain Comet has been operating just fine on his own without a supporting cast for 70+ years.

[Zero Hunter]

I think too many costumed "family members" get in the way of a good story. I like characters to have a diverse supporting cast full of everyday people from all walks of life. Not just a cast of fellow superheroes, unless ya know, it's the Justice League.

I agree with this. If you have a story with 5 speedsters you have to usually come up with stupid reasons for them not to solve everything quick. Same as when you have 3 or 4 Superman level characters in one story. Lets not even talk about the Bat army. To me the more knock offs you create the more it dilutes the main character.

Even the Green Lanterns where it makes sense to have multiple one running around they just keep creating new ones human ones when they are not needed.

[dswynne]

I don't have a problem with the number of family members. My problem is what to do with them, once the story arc has been completed. I mean, if Batman can have his "Batman, Inc.", I don't see the problem with the main character directly or indirectly inspiring others to take up the superhero (or super-villain) mantle, in the main hero's name. Besides, you'd think that after a while, with so many heroes running around, the main character can step back and have a normal life, and just show up when the hero's arch-nemesis shows up.

[Dred]

Umm… no. Jade has been carrying on his tradition just fine for the last 40+ years with Alan doing what he does best.
Also not every character needs a supporting cast. Captain Comet has been operating just fine on his own without a supporting cast for 70+ years.

How has Jade been carrying on any tradition? She's barely even been in any DC comics for years. And before that she was a bit character on some teams or a supporting character in someone else's comic.

Which is the problem they're pointing out. There is a finite number of pages of comic book DC puts out every month. There is clearly not enough room for every character.

[docmidnite]

How has Jade been carrying on any tradition? She's barely even been in any DC comics for years. And before that she was a bit character on some teams or a supporting character in someone else's comic.

Which is the problem they're pointing out. There is a finite number of pages of comic book DC puts out every month. There is clearly not enough room for every character.

She hasn’t been in any comics since Flashpoint screwed over the Golden Age characters and their legacies. Before that she was in Manhunter with her brother Todd and JSoA.

Whether or not there is enough page time for other family characters depends on how the characters are utilized whether in secondary titles, their own titles or team books.