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  1. #121
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Killerbee911 View Post
    That is fine, I just mentioned it because it is important to note in updating a character whether you are going to try to keep the original intent or just update the character as best you can. And in Superman case might not be keep the original intent because the printed word isn't as powerful in technology age with people who have short attention spans. Part of Clark Kent thing is writing powerful pieces that can effect people if you still want to do that might mean changing his job.

    It also might mean updating how keeps his secret identity just an example All might is a superman clone. And this is difference between him as human and in his hero mode



    People love the glass secret identity to them it is sacred but bring the character up to date might mean trying something else. If Superman secret identity was sure up more could he do a job in the news? The answer is yes. Sometimes updating is simple, sometimes they are a lot of questions about what do you want to do with the character. And relax superman fan I am not saying to change anything I am just saying there is give and take in process. Once upon a time Superman changing in a phone booth was classic thing, Is protecting the classic thing always the best thing?
    There have been takes that show how much work Clark puts into differentiating Clark and Superman, sometimes to the point of physical changes (although not necessarily as dramatic as All Might).

  2. #122
    X-Men fan since '92 Odd Rödney's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    Not reading all these pages (maybe later when there's time) but my two cents (and apologies if I'm just repeating what others have said)....

    If I rummage around in my head I'm sure I could find a few characters that no longer fit a contemporary narrative in any way. But much more often, I think, we simply have characters that require a minor adjustment or update.

    It's not that characters get out dated so much as writers refuse to adjust them and go with the ebb and flow of the times and culture.

    Superman being a journalist is no more out dated today than it was eighty years ago. That's not the problem; acting like printed newspapers are still a big thing and journalism hasn't changed since the 60's is the problem. But if the Superman comics tackled what journalism looks like today; the struggle of print, the rise of misinformation, social media and fake news, the attempts to silence journalism and/or use it for propaganda....you write about that and suddenly the Daily Planet isn't out dated, it's topical and relevant.

    Hal being a test pilot is likewise no more out dated; have we not been in armed conflict in the middle east for twenty years? Did we not start a brand new branch of the military built on flying and the new space race? Do we not still invest an insane amount of money on military R&D? Hal's origin is only out dated when we pretend that nothing has changed since the days of Chuck Yeager, but if Hal's origin acknowledged the current topics and conversations that surround pilots and the military; the rise of drones, the endless wars we've been fighting, the attempt to profiteer outer space, then Hal's origin likewise becomes topical and modern rather than old and tired.

    And the same can be said for any of these long standing IP's. A Wonder Woman story that tackles the topics of feminism and equality in the exact same way Marston did it eighty years ago is going to be old fashioned and out of step. A Wonder Woman story that tackles the topics of feminism and equality through the lens of modern philosophy won't be old fashioned or out of step at all, and the idea that it could be in a post-MeToo world is foolish and short sighted. A Nightwing story that acts as if traveling circuses are still popular is going to feel out dated, but a Nightwing story that acts like circus-like performances are still popular in places like Vegas or Cirque de Soleil won't feel out dated. Even someone like KGBeast, who was mentioned on the first page of the thread, can remain contemporary if writers don't pretend that it's the 70's/80's. I mean, look at Putin; he's literally former-KGB (right?) and you think KGBeast can't work today?

    The issue is not the characters. It's almost *never* the characters and the adjustments they require to feel contemporary are almost always minor. It is almost always (ALWAYS!) the writers and DC being afraid of, and unable to, change.
    This is it, 100%. It is why I prefer Marvel stuff these days, They seem more able to embrace modernity.
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  3. #123

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bored at 3:00AM View Post
    And, even then, why not simply create a new talking ape character that we can explore? It's not like their isn't an entire city of them already in the DCU. I'm kind of surprised that no one has created a female talking ape character yet. The only ones I know of are all male apes. I know almost nothing about female gorillas, but it seems like an untapped vein of the DCU that could yield some gold. What are the gender roles in Gorilla City like?
    They definitely like their gorilla champagne! (See Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber's brilliant Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen miniseries for a look at everyday life within Gorilla City.)
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  4. #124
    Uncanny Member Digifiend's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buried Alien View Post
    Colonel Computron. A villain for the early 80s and no other time period.

    Of course, we haven't seen much of Computron since the 80s, for reasons that should be self-explanatory.
    Wasn't he used in the recent Wonder Twins comic?

    Quote Originally Posted by Buried Alien View Post
    The TV series' Cisco totally saved Vibe.
    I'm not so sure - because a TV synergy version of Vibe hasn't actually appeared in the mainline comics. A shame because yeah, the original comics one is a major outdated stereotype, and the TV version is a cool more well rounded character.
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  5. #125
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Digifiend View Post
    I'm not so sure - because a TV synergy version of Vibe hasn't actually appeared in the mainline comics. A shame because yeah, the original comics one is a major outdated stereotype, and the TV version is a cool more well rounded character.
    "Saved" as far as the general audience.

  6. #126
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Killerbee911 View Post
    This is a good post , my small disagreement is with assessment of journalism and Superman. Not only is newspapers aren't a big thing, We have culture changed from being centered around newspapers and big part of Clark Kent thing is how his words would be able effect change just as much as Superman literally while superheroing
    Oh for sure. Adjusting the Planet would be more involved than the couple examples I tossed out there, and the impact the change/s would have on the story need to be considered, and all that jazz.

    This is it, 100%. It is why I prefer Marvel stuff these days, They seem more able to embrace modernity.
    I think Marvel was built to be more "eternally modern" honestly. A lot of their early stuff was designed to be timely, not timeless (while reaching for a deeper expression of the times than just the latest summer trend), while DC has, even from the start, had a bit more of a mythological/folklore feeling to it, and is both more and less adaptable for that. DC Elseworlds work in a way Marvel's rarely manage, partially because DC's roster are such unchanging pillars in the community consciousness.
    Last edited by Ascended; 03-01-2021 at 03:04 PM.
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  7. #127
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    Quote Originally Posted by Killerbee911 View Post
    That is fine, I just mentioned it because it is important to note in updating a character whether you are going to try to keep the original intent or just update the character as best you can. And in Superman case might not be keep the original intent because the printed word isn't as powerful in technology age with people who have short attention spans. Part of Clark Kent thing is writing powerful pieces that can effect people if you still want to do that might mean changing his job.
    I think Clark could still drive change behind the scenes.

    Sub in Clark for the woman here, and a GBS news anchor for the man:



    It's a more humble position behind the camera.

  8. #128
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  9. #129
    The Fastest Post Alive! Buried Alien's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    I think Marvel was built to be more "eternally modern" honestly. A lot of their early stuff was designed to be timely, not timeless...
    Marvel Comics was founded as "Timely Comics," I believe.

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  10. #130
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buried Alien View Post
    Marvel Comics was founded as "Timely Comics," I believe.

    Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
    Yeah, that's right.

    So, unintentional joke there, I guess.
    "We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

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  11. #131
    DC/Collected Editions Mod The Darknight Detective's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buried Alien View Post
    Marvel Comics was founded as "Timely Comics," I believe.

    Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
    It's more accurate to say that Marvel is a descendant of Atlas Comics, the latter forming after the Timely era ended. Marvel started from scratch in the early '60s, with the exception of brining back a couple of Timely characters Stan Lee thought could work in this new universe.
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  12. #132
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Nostalgia View Post
    The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Captain Boomerang.

    He's great as a suicide squad member....but I don't see how throwing boomerangs would be a challenge to the Flash....plus the pajama pants needed to go.
    What about boomerangs the size of a spaceship? Let's see Flash try to stop this:



    They were doing more creative things with Cap Boomerang in the 80s than they are now.

  13. #133
    Ultimate Member Lee Stone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bored at 3:00AM View Post
    A travelling circus may be a thing of the past, but live performances featuring death-defying acrobats will certainly be around for decades to come as long as people keeping paying to see these kinds of shows in places like Vegas and Macau. They just need to re-contextualize the nature of Haley's Circus to be something more modern and the character still works just fine.
    I just remembered that I discovered a circus that comes through our city.
    I found out about it just as the pandemic hit, so I still haven't got to go, but I plan to after things are back on track and they come through again.

    Also... Legion #260 and 261 featured a circus in the 30th century.
    So they must come back into fashion in the DCU at some point.
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  14. #134

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bored at 3:00AM View Post
    This is a cudgel that's used against many DC characters, so I think it's worth discussing with as much nuance as we're able to muster.

    I can certainly see how many would view DC's roster, or superheroes in general, as very old fashioned. Most of them are, after all, half a century old or older. They are largely the products of white men who were often Jewish and living in NYC. These characters are shaped by their experiences growing up through the Great Depression, WW2, and the Cold War looking to make a buck from children with disposable entertainment. As a result, the characters reflect the anxieties, preoccupations, and prejudices of their times, so superheroes are overflowing with rich playboys, scientists, test pilots, spies and soldiers fighting a never-ending battle against villains that almost always evoke the Nazis.
    What does being Jewish have to do with anything? There's very little in the Golden Age characters that reflect anything about being Jewish. ( A possible exception might be the odd "Brooklyn" character in the kid gang books, but even that is more Brooklyn than Jewish.)
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  15. #135
    The Man Who Cannot Die manwhohaseverything's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frontier View Post
    There have been takes that show how much work Clark puts into differentiating Clark and Superman, sometimes to the point of physical changes (although not necessarily as dramatic as All Might).
    Regardless,clark kent with glasses ain't funny no more.It's not any kind of satire,or poking fun or commentary on political climate.It's viewed through the prism of seriousness.No matter what physical change happens or they say clark does.if it isn't drastic or dramatic.it won't work.It's that simple.Glasses identity is either absurd/humouress or it makes sense.pick your poison is my opinion.
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