How should a character retire?

[Force de Phenix]

Then they should make them go to another universe and become a doppelganger for that universe's version of them, because in the 616 they had nothing left, so they would just continue their lives, but not in the published books, basically retiring them.

The original of them would have died.

Like Ultimate Spider-Man being replaced by a doppelganger once he died, so people could still have hope, etc.

[ComicNoobie]

Hmm, I don't know about retire exactly. But one thing that has always bugged me about comics is the aging process. Like you have characters that have been around since the 60s now in the 2020s who are still practically the same age. As someone who loves teen superhero teams it's also frustrating to know they'll hit a ceiling where they can't grow beyond a certain point and be stuck. The Young Avengers will never grow old enough to be their own "adult" Avengers faction. A fun character like Mayday Parker will always be a "what if" scenario because they dare not do any permanent change to the Peter Parker formula. Power Pack are inconsistent with their aging and likewise cannot grow. A character like Franklin Richards given when he was introduced should be a grown man by now with his own family and his own FF team. They can't grow these characters because that would mean growing the world around them and force change to the status quo.

Personally I don't want characters to permanently retire. But a change of roles isn't bad either. I love Peter Parker but I don't read Spider-Man titles with him anymore because I've seen it all and he always cycles back to the status quo. I understand because he's the most popular Marvel character and change is scary. Someone suggests Peter settles down and becomes a scientist and mentor. That would be something I'd like to see but again I know why they won't do it. It's why it feels the comic worlds never really evolve to a certain point and only make changes at times because the real world is.

If there is one thing I can say the MCU has over the comics it's the real world element. They will "have" to force change. It makes me curious how they'll even introduce a character like Magneto with his backstory

[charliehustle415]

Then they should make them go to another universe and become a doppelganger for that universe's version of them, because in the 616 they had nothing left, so they would just continue their lives, but not in the published books, basically retiring them.

The original of them would have died.

Like Ultimate Spider-Man being replaced by a doppelganger once he died, so people could still have hope, etc.

this kinda just happened to Fury Jr. I kinda like that idea, but I feel sad that the hero never gets any rest it's almost like promethean curse

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

That depends on the character. Ideally it should be a culmination of an arc but that's harder to do with how much content Marvel and DC put out.

Off the top of my head, the Hulk leaves Earth and lives on an undiscovered faraway planet. He and Banner are able to make a good impact on the native population. They are remembered as the Defender by the natives.

[Huntsman Spider]

Look at Power Rangers - they recently did a reunion special. Normally, teams stay active unless they lose their powers - and due to developments in later seasons, powers can no longer be permanently destroyed. Once and Always showed that two of the rangers were now working for SPA, which seems to be linked to SPD. That means they'll be involved in another team (the SPD series was set in 2025, twenty years in the future at the time but now only two years away). Another was killed in action. That left them with no yellow ranger, so the original's daughter replaced her. Both of those avenues - mentoring the next generation and being killed in action - are good reasons for a hero to be written off permanently.

Hmm, yeah, I'd agree with that much.

Peter Parker should get a big-boy job (Editor of the Bugle or something science-y), marry MJ, have kids, retire from active duty (for the most part) and take on a mentorship role for Miles, Silk, and Ben Reilly.

Not sure how he'd be mentoring Ben Reilly, since Ben happens to be his clone with approximately the same level of knowledge and most of the same foundational memories (the less we talk about what became of him more recently, the better), but that overall idea is definitely workable.

Hmm, I don't know about retire exactly. But one thing that has always bugged me about comics is the aging process. Like you have characters that have been around since the 60s now in the 2020s who are still practically the same age. As someone who loves teen superhero teams it's also frustrating to know they'll hit a ceiling where they can't grow beyond a certain point and be stuck. The Young Avengers will never grow old enough to be their own "adult" Avengers faction. A fun character like Mayday Parker will always be a "what if" scenario because they dare not do any permanent change to the Peter Parker formula. Power Pack are inconsistent with their aging and likewise cannot grow. A character like Franklin Richards given when he was introduced should be a grown man by now with his own family and his own FF team. They can't grow these characters because that would mean growing the world around them and force change to the status quo.

Personally I don't want characters to permanently retire. But a change of roles isn't bad either. I love Peter Parker but I don't read Spider-Man titles with him anymore because I've seen it all and he always cycles back to the status quo. I understand because he's the most popular Marvel character and change is scary. Someone suggests Peter settles down and becomes a scientist and mentor. That would be something I'd like to see but again I know why they won't do it. It's why it feels the comic worlds never really evolve to a certain point and only make changes at times because the real world is.

If there is one thing I can say the MCU has over the comics it's the real world element. They will "have" to force change. It makes me curious how they'll even introduce a character like Magneto with his backstory

Yeah, because in real life, people age and will eventually die off and/or retire, so you do have to refresh with fresher blood every now and again. As for Magneto, temporal suspension could explain his longevity well enough should he be adapted into the MCU, kind of like how in the 90s Spider-Man animated series, Captain America and the Red Skull were stuck in a temporal void that kept them from aging at the end of World War II, only to be freed 50+ years later to fight with or against Spider-Man. Of course, after seeing just how little's changed in terms of humanity's capacity for inhumanity to one another, he snaps and goes on the warpath out of determination, if not even desperation, to keep the mutant population from being similarly victimized.

[Zauriel]

Realistically they won't retire but my question is if Marvel for some reason decided to retire your favorite character permanently, how would you like that to go down?

I would like to see Marvel retire my favorite characters permamently in a slow-paced dramatic story.

[Alan2099]

AM I the only one here that DOESN'T want to see their favorite characters go away forever?

[Huntsman Spider]

AM I the only one here that DOESN'T want to see their favorite characters go away forever?

I think it's more hypothetical than serious.

[JackDaw]

It should be just a bit (a tiny bit!) more like real life. Characters should retire in a variety of ways…sometime through old age, sometimes in a blaze of glory, sometimes because they want to do other things, etc.

And…it the retirement should be permanent. Marvel comics would be telling better stories now of we were reading about the grandkids of the original 60’s heroes. Death and retirement stories would carry real clout if we knew they weren’t temporary stunts.

That’s all a pipe dream (of course!) because a lot of its marketing driven rather than story powered. “That Peter Parker, he sells a ton of merchandising, no need to worry about story progression”.

[Digifiend]

Hmm, I don't know about retire exactly. But one thing that has always bugged me about comics is the aging process. Like you have characters that have been around since the 60s now in the 2020s who are still practically the same age. As someone who loves teen superhero teams it's also frustrating to know they'll hit a ceiling where they can't grow beyond a certain point and be stuck. The Young Avengers will never grow old enough to be their own "adult" Avengers faction. A fun character like Mayday Parker will always be a "what if" scenario because they dare not do any permanent change to the Peter Parker formula. Power Pack are inconsistent with their aging and likewise cannot grow. A character like Franklin Richards given when he was introduced should be a grown man by now with his own family and his own FF team. They can't grow these characters because that would mean growing the world around them and force change to the status quo.

Personally I don't want characters to permanently retire. But a change of roles isn't bad either. I love Peter Parker but I don't read Spider-Man titles with him anymore because I've seen it all and he always cycles back to the status quo. I understand because he's the most popular Marvel character and change is scary. Someone suggests Peter settles down and becomes a scientist and mentor. That would be something I'd like to see but again I know why they won't do it. It's why it feels the comic worlds never really evolve to a certain point and only make changes at times because the real world is.

If there is one thing I can say the MCU has over the comics it's the real world element. They will "have" to force change. It makes me curious how they'll even introduce a character like Magneto with his backstory

They can't. Magneto being a holocaust survivor won't work, even if he was a kid at the time, as World War II was 80 years ago - he'd be too old to be an active supervillain.

Isn't the FF's origin still only around 15 years ago? And we saw Franklin born on the page - he should in fact be younger than most of the Champions. And he is, though his age-up in Slott's run was long overdue as he'd been permanently 8 years old for decades.

[captchuck]

How about visiting the Social Security office, just like a regular human?

[Tony Stark]

AM I the only one here that DOESN'T want to see their favorite characters go away forever?

No you’re not. If they retired Tony I don’t know if I would keep getting comics anymore. I want him to stick around so future generations could get to know him and enjoy his adventures as well.

[Midnight_v]

No you’re not. If they retired Tony I don’t know if I would keep getting comics anymore. I want him to stick around so future generations could get to know him and enjoy his adventures as well.

I mildly agree, on priciple because I would accept Arno Stark. I have no problem brining heroes into the future, but it isn't only possibility in that situation either.

[Zero Hunter]

Then they should make them go to another universe and become a doppelganger for that universe's version of them, because in the 616 they had nothing left, so they would just continue their lives, but not in the published books, basically retiring them.

The original of them would have died.

Like Ultimate Spider-Man being replaced by a doppelganger once he died, so people could still have hope, etc.

I had that idea for a ton of the underused mutants in the X-Men book. Take a bunch of the younger ones (those created after the original New Mutants) and shunt them off to a world were all the older mutants were killed off a decade or so ago and now a new generation of mutants are starting to be born. Let them become that worlds X-Men

[Tony Stark]

I had that idea for a ton of the underused mutants in the X-Men book. Take a bunch of the younger ones (those created after the original New Mutants) and shunt them off to a world were all the older mutants were killed off a decade or so ago and now a new generation of mutants are starting to be born. Let them become that worlds X-Men

That’s a very intriguing idea.