Superhero Families - When does a 'family' become to big?

[godisawesome]

I feel the best answer is “However many your writers can or can’t write well.”

It fluctuates depending on the types of characters, types of relationships, what the writers can do, etc.

-Superman once was able to manage himself, a younger version of himself, Supergirl, the Super Pets, his supporting cast in Jimmy and Lois, and the entire Legion of Superheroes in the Bronze Age.

-Batman was managing four Robins, Three Batgirls, Two Batmen, Azrael, Birds of Prey, and a massive amount of Batman Inc.

-Green Lantern at one point just featured every Earth character plus the Corps.

All three franchise have, however, also contracted massively at different times, so it really comes down to what the writers can manage in the marketplace.

[Jim Kelly]

In most eras, the Supers have been spread out in time and space. Clark is in Metropolis, but most of the time Supergirl and Superboy aren't. It does get a bit much when Jimmy and Lois start to have super-heroic powers, but Superman remains the real super-hero of Metropolis. The adventures of Clark in Smallville are in the past and the adventures with the Legion are in the far distant future. Krypto likes to fly around in outer space and isn't a constant presence.

That's good in one sense, but I think not having the Supers all get together in the same place for big adventures might be a reason why Supergirl and Superboy (Kon-El) lost their books. They were too detached from Superman.

On the other hand, I think the Bat family suffers too often for all being in the same city (or in places very close to Gotham). Batman is supposedly a loner yet he has so many costumed pals helping him out, it's practically a Bat police force--and they still can't clean up corruption and criminality in the city? I liked it best in the early 1970s, when it was mostly just Batman--Dick Grayson was at Hudson University and Barbara Gordon left for Washington, D.C. So Batman just had guys like Gordon, Alfred and Jason Bard--none of whom were super-heroes. Moreover, there was a cut-back on using costumed crooks. So most of Batman's cases were grounded--solving routine murder cases and stopping gangland drug running.

The Green Lantern Corps is by definition a large group. However, there should be one G.L. per sector. Tales of the Green Lantern Corps can be told about these different sectors. The Green Lanterns shouldn't need to cross paths so often. Earth should only have one Green Lantern. Any extras should be shipped off to sectors that lack a Green Lantern--like they did with Charlie Vicker. Or you know, they could always tell stories of Green Lanterns past and future.

[Stanlos]

In most eras, the Supers have been spread out in time and space. Clark is in Metropolis, but most of the time Supergirl and Superboy aren't. It does get a bit much when Jimmy and Lois start to have super-heroic powers, but Superman remains the real super-hero of Metropolis. The adventures of Clark in Smallville are in the past and the adventures with the Legion are in the far distant future. Krypto likes to fly around in outer space and isn't a constant presence.

That's good in one sense, but I think not having the Supers all get together in the same place for big adventures might be a reason why Supergirl and Superboy (Kon-El) lost their books. They were too detached from Superman.

On the other hand, I think the Bat family suffers too often for all being in the same city (or in places very close to Gotham). Batman is supposedly a loner yet he has so many costumed pals helping him out, it's practically a Bat police force--and they still can't clean up corruption and criminality in the city? I liked it best in the early 1970s, when it was mostly just Batman--Dick Grayson was at Hudson University and Barbara Gordon left for Washington, D.C. So Batman just had guys like Gordon, Alfred and Jason Bard--none of whom were super-heroes. Moreover, there was a cut-back on using costumed crooks. So most of Batman's cases were grounded--solving routine murder cases and stopping gangland drug running.

The Green Lantern Corps is by definition a large group. However, there should be one G.L. per sector. Tales of the Green Lantern Corps can be told about these different sectors. The Green Lanterns shouldn't need to cross paths so often. Earth should only have one Green Lantern. Any extras should be shipped off to sectors that lack a Green Lantern--like they did with Charlie Vicker. Or you know, they could always tell stories of Green Lanterns past and future.

Add to the GLC all the other Corps as well

[Vordan]

When you have too many characters to adequately cover or focus on across books or in your family of titles.

Nailed it in one.

Like the title asks - when it comes to Superhero families...when does a Super Fam just get to big?

Is there a limit? A perfect number of members? Does it dilute the brand?

If a Super Fam does become to big how should they go about downsizing it?

Either kill members off or retire them. Retirement is my preference, just have members hang up their tights and transition out of the books. If someone has a killer pitch or there’s a need for them, then you can bring them back later. Until then you just let them rest.

[Jim Kelly]

Add to the GLC all the other Corps as well

I won't. That whole concept is too stupid to live.

[Triniking1234]

I don’t think any of the families are too big, they just need to be utilized more effectively. The image of the Superman family is a good example. Why put them in uniforms when it makes Conner, Jon and Kenan look even more indistinguishable?

The Bat books had a Batgirl book with 3 Batgirls. THREE! They also tried to push two Robins and two Batmen.

But none of the families are too big. Sure.

[Primal Slayer]

The Bat books had a Batgirl book with 3 Batgirls. THREE! They also tried to push two Robins and two Batmen.

But none of the families are too big. Sure.

Yeah needing countless heroes that share 1 name is ridiculous.

It's not as if they're on different Earths

[Aahz]

When you have too many characters to adequately cover or focus on across books or in your family of titles.

I think it really depends on the size of the franchise, Batman can probably have few more members than the others, since a lot of them can have their own book, while in a lot of the other franchises they have to either appear in the main book or find a spot on a team book, and successfull team books are also getting rarer.

I think for Batman the upper limit is about 10 (but that would require a better coordination and planing by the editorial than what they are doing now).

And with most other franchises it is likely some where between 3 and 5.

But there are lot of factors going into that, it makes for example for Green Lantern no sense to have teen side kicks, which reduces the characters you can have in comparison to other franchises, since it is harder to make Lantern just a support of another one or to put them in something like Teen Titans.

And with the Amazons all being adult woman, the Wonder Woman franchise is also a bit more limited when it comes to expanding the family.

[Psy-lock]

The Bat books had a Batgirl book with 3 Batgirls. THREE! They also tried to push two Robins and two Batmen.

But none of the families are too big. Sure.

All of these Batgirls/Robins are distinct characters who add something unique to the franchise. Like I said, they're not utilized very well. Having several characters use the same mantle at the same time is probably not the best idea.

[Frontier]

I mean, Post-Crisis tried to differentiate them all into different identities (Babs was Oracle, Cass was Black Bat, and Steph was Batgirl but always had Spoiler to fall back on) but like most things the New 52 made a mess of a lot of things.

Some characters really don't feel like they've had the success or the recognition to be worth having the "names" (Jace Fox as Batman, Jon Kent as Superman).

[Jim Kelly]

If it's all about merchandising and they want to have a line of action figures with several different versions of a character--a Barbie world--then they don't need to have that be a thing in the comic books. They can create multiple action figures based on the slimmest of reasons. Rainbow Batman and other variants were based on forgettable stories from the 1950s and 1960s. If there's one good argument for bringing back the infinite multiverse, this should be it. Look at all the money they can make by selling multiple versions of the characters as action figures, by reason of them being from different Earths.

[Digifiend]

Or more direct- if more than one character hs the same codename (Batgirl, Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Superman, Kara Zor-(e)L) you added too many to the family.

Kid Flash is a bad example since there's only ever been one at a time. Bart only became Kid Flash in 2003, Wally had dumped the identity at the end of Crisis of Infinite Earths after Barry was killed off leading to him becoming The Flash. In New 52 Bar-Torr was Kid Flash. The original Bart had been shunted to the Speed Force with most of the family. When Bart returned he immediately switched back to Impulse, since Wallace "Ace" West had taken over as Kid Flash in Rebirth following Bar-Torr getting written out. Flash itself is a big problem though since there's four heroes with that name - Jay Garrick, Barry Allen (who was resurrected in 2008), Wally West, and Avery Ho. There was briefly two Impulses after Irey West's return to continuity, but she's now changed her name to Thunderheart. Jay's new daughter/sidekick has a unique name as well, The Boom.

There's also only one current Superboy, since Osul-Ra doesn't actually have a solo codename yet (and I've seen spoiler scans on Bleeding Cool saying he and Otho will be something other than Superboy and Supergirl), and Jon became Superman, meaning that name is shared instead.

Kara Zor-El of course is a real name, not a codename, and they both have different secret identities and codenames, so that one really isn't a problem.

[Will Evans]

I've copied this response in bold from forum poster @Factor from March 11, 2022 on the 7 Great Families of the DC thread, as I think it applies here on what I believe:

Interestingly, all the families seem to more or less follow the same structure of having:
- The main hero (Diana, Clark, Barry, Arthur, Ollie etc)
- Someone the same age as them, portrayed in equal footing and usually with a different expertise (Steel with tech, Batwoman with the supernatural, Nubia's newfound ruling abilities, Mera with her Xebel background, Black Canary...)
- A sort of mentor figure (Alfred, Hippolyta, Jay Garrick, Vulko etc)
- Their first sidekick, who has developed into their own hero (Nightwing, Kara Zor-El, Arsenal, Wally).
- The "outcast", usually more violent and rebellious (Red Hood, Artemis, Arsenal again or maybe Emiko, Koryak)
- A former sidekick still finding their footing (Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, Connor Kent, Mia Dearden etc)
- The most likely inheritor of the super-hero identity (Jon Kent, Yara Flor, Connor Hawke - Damian should be here, but Jace is a curveball).

I'll add another line to this though. The young child character:
Superman family: Osul and Otho
Green Arrow family: Lian
Shazam family: Darla
Green Lantern "family": Keli Quintela
Flash family: Irey and Jai
Aquaman family: Andy
Wonder Woman family: Trinity is in progress
Batman family: by process of elimination, this is Damien currently as an older example. This also is an answer to Factor's curveball he mentioned.


Also multiple characters can occupy the same role. Both Red Hood and Huntress are the rebellious one for Batman. Both Jay and Max Mercury are the mentor type for Flash, etc.

[Jim Kelly]

Used to be everyone had their own imp.

[Aahz]

Green Arrow family: Lian

Only that she now got aged up do to time travel shenanigans, putting her at roughly the same age as Emiko, and and the now also returning Sin.

That all there girls are (Half-)Asian, and have their origin somehow tied to assassins also doesn't really help imo.

If you look at the number of family members in realtion to the popularity of the franchise Green Arrow might have actually the worst problem with bloat at the moment.

Also multiple characters can occupy the same role. Both Red Hood and Huntress are the rebellious one for Batman. Both Jay and Max Mercury are the mentor type for Flash, etc.

I think you can often get a way with a female and male character filling similar roles, and in a role that is mostly support (like mentor) you might also get away with more characters (especially if they support other characters).