The dead parents poll

[The Darknight Detective]

Every time I see this thread, my brains reads "dead parrot" initially (yes, I'm a major Monty Python fan ).

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

Jack Drake's death just seems like a Didio-mandated early link in a chain of events designed to either sabotage Tim Drake or remove any elements that distinguished him from Dick and Jason. Like how I feel about the mandated "Make Bart Allen Kid-Flash instead of Impulse and change his personality entirely too, while you're at it" which didn't add any benefit to the character, just removed his uniqueness and individuality because Didio didn't like those qualities.

[Tzigone]

Jack Drake's death just seems like a Didio-mandated early link in a chain of events designed to either sabotage Tim Drake or remove any elements that distinguished him from Dick and Jason. Like how I feel about the mandated "Make Bart Allen Kid-Flash instead of Impulse and change his personality entirely too, while you're at it" which didn't add any benefit to the character, just removed his uniqueness and individuality because Didio didn't like those qualities.

I feel the same way. Also about Kon being sent to live with the Kents. And even putting Jon on the Legion (though that's much later, of course).

[Riv86672]

I'm kinda the reverse. I liked them alive when first exposed to it, but have slowly soured on the idea. Part of it I have developed a strong distaste for the "farm values are noble values"/"rural superiority" that has been used too often. I don't agree with that (and I'm a rural person, myself, raised rurally).

^^^I grew up w. Clark having dead parents, and when Byrne brought them back I remember smacking myself in the forehead and thinking “what a great idea”!
For the most part I’ve never had a problem w. the Kents being alive, though some writers have def. failed to use them as well as they could/should.

[Jim Kelly]

In THE AMAZING WORLD OF SUPERMAN [Metropolis Edition] (1973)--"The Origin of Superman" by Bridwell, Infantino, Swan and Anderson--when young Clark is at Jonathan's death bed, Pa Kent has the white hair. I think the editorial policy was that the Kents would become progressively older looking so they would indeed be white haired as in SUPERMAN 161 (May 1963)--"The Last Days of Ma and Pa Kent" by Leo Dorfman and Plastino.

In the 1978 movie, by the time of Jonathan Kent's death, Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter are maybe supposed to be around 60--close to their real life ages. Yet when Clark is getting ready to leave the farm and Ma Kent walks out into that field (my favourite scene from just about any movie), she now has snow white hair. So has a significant amount of time passed since Jonathan died or did losing the love of her life cause her hair to turn white?

[marhawkman]

^^^I grew up w. Clark having dead parents, and when Byrne brought them back I remember smacking myself in the forehead and thinking “what a great idea”!
For the most part I’ve never had a problem w. the Kents being alive, though some writers have def. failed to use them as well as they could/should.

The Kents taking to Conner and Cassie was interesting. Martha was like: "You're probably hungry, come get some breakfast."

Martha definitely supported Conner/Cassie.

[Riv86672]

The Kents taking to Conner and Cassie was interesting. Martha was like: "You're probably hungry, come get some breakfast."

Martha definitely supported Conner/Cassie.

^^^On target!

[Ascended]

Voted for....

Kents dead in Clark's teens/early 20's. I used to like the Kents alive, back in the 90's when I first got into comics, but over time I've come to the conclusion that they add more as memories than they do as active characters.

Silas Stone dead 5+ years into Victor's career as Cyborg. Vic's relationship with his dad is a major story beat for him, and I don't want it cut out or condensed. That dynamic needs time to breathe so Vic can benefit and grow as a character, as much as possible.

Jack Drake....I'm fine with him dying as he 'really' did in Identity Crisis, when Tim is around 18-20 (I think officially 19 but I might be off a year). I wouldn't want to see it any earlier in Tim's life, that ground is too well trod in Gotham. And while an adult Bat with a living parent is virtually novel, I think Jack dying adds more to Tim's story.

The Allens die after Barry has been Flash for many years. Never liked Johns' dead momma drama and I don't think it adds enough to be worth keeping. The idea of Thrawn screwing with Barry throughout his life is great, but there's other ways to do that which are, frankly, more original and more interesting, and a lot of them don't have the kind of negative blowback that comes with fridging Flash's mom to give him angst.

Didn't vote for Don Fite. I adored Young Justice and still have fond memories, but while I liked Fite n' Maad and Empress, they were never my favorite parts of the book. I don't even remember how Fite died.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

Voted for....

Kents dead in Clark's teens/early 20's. I used to like the Kents alive, back in the 90's when I first got into comics, but over time I've come to the conclusion that they add more as memories than they do as active characters.

Silas Stone dead 5+ years into Victor's career as Cyborg. Vic's relationship with his dad is a major story beat for him, and I don't want it cut out or condensed. That dynamic needs time to breathe so Vic can benefit and grow as a character, as much as possible.

Jack Drake....I'm fine with him dying as he 'really' did in Identity Crisis, when Tim is around 18-20 (I think officially 19 but I might be off a year). I wouldn't want to see it any earlier in Tim's life, that ground is too well trod in Gotham. And while an adult Bat with a living parent is virtually novel, I think Jack dying adds more to Tim's story.

The Allens die after Barry has been Flash for many years. Never liked Johns' dead momma drama and I don't think it adds enough to be worth keeping. The idea of Thrawn screwing with Barry throughout his life is great, but there's other ways to do that which are, frankly, more original and more interesting, and a lot of them don't have the kind of negative blowback that comes with fridging Flash's mom to give him angst.

Didn't vote for Don Fite. I adored Young Justice and still have fond memories, but while I liked Fite n' Maad and Empress, they were never my favorite parts of the book. I don't even remember how Fite died.

I'm pretty sure Tim Drake was still in high school in when Identity Crisis happened. In fact, I don't think he's ever been officially a legal adult. God knows I've seen enough folks here complain about him needing to be "aged up" to an age he never has been.

[Tzigone]

I'm pretty sure Tim Drake was still in high school in when Identity Crisis happened. In fact, I don't think he's ever been officially a legal adult. God knows I've seen enough folks here complain about him needing to be "aged up" to an age he never has been.

I wouldn't say he needs to be "aged up" except in that characters need to keep the same relative ages (especially those connected to each other) - so when you have a 10 year old Damian and a 17 year old Tim, and now Damian is 14, Tim needs to be 21. I know universe reboots happen, but frankly I'm not a fan of that, especially when they aren't consistent on what bits or kept or not or try to keep relationship dynamics while jettisoning the history that built them.

[Maestro 216]

Christian: Batman and Superman. Two excellent heroes...with dead fathers.

[Mutant God]

Kents - Late into Superman's career
Allens - Dead/Imprison in Barry's childhood
Silas - Early into Cyborg's career (and left as an AI/hologram in Vic's system)
Jack - Before Tim becomes Robin
Donald - I'm not sure but I chose dies and reborn

Christian: Batman and Superman. Two excellent heroes...with dead fathers.

[nx01a]

Stop the parental tragedy. That's Batman's schtick.
I voted for the parents to survive long after their kids became superheroes.

[Jim Kelly]

It's odd that Barry Allen and Clark Kent have changed places. Barry was raised in a small town--Fallville--with loving parents who continued to be in his life when he grew up and became a police scientist and the Flash in Central City. Clark was raised in a small town--Smallville--with loving adoptive parents who died before he grew up and became a reporter and Superman in Metropolis.

Why did the writers think that giving Barry the tragic back story and Clark the kinder back story would improve either character?

[Kaijudo]

Don't really have a dog in the fight as far as Cyborg or Empress goes...I think Silas being dead early on makes Vic even more alone and cements the Titans as his family, and the resurrection bit with Empress's dad was fun, but neither truly impacts my thoughts on either character.

Really like having the Kents around. I think they add a lot to Superman mythology, the eternal connection to "home" for Clark, especially as other Smallville folks find themselves incorporated into Clark's Metropolis lifestyle (like Lana). Jonathan and Martha should be Smallville beacons for Clark.

Jack Drake...I effing hate Identity Crisis but I'll admit having a Robin lose a parent halfway through being Robin is a novel idea, since both Dick and Jason were essentially orphaned when Bruce took them in. How a death can impact the way Tim fights crime (or if he's even able to) is a compelling idea, and maybe one that wasn't focused on enough back then.

Henry and Nora Allen should die well after Barry has been the Flash. The whole Nora murder thing is the worst thing to happen to the Flash mythos, possibly ever, and is just Johns's hackneyed wannabe Hollywood screenwriter way of justifying why Barry went into forensic science in the first place, rather than just having him organically gravitate towards it. It's a sloppy, stupid, and vacuous "Batmanization" of Barry, and frankly is indicative of the majority of Johns's output since.