The return of the Mighty Mighty New 52 Discussion thread

[thetrellan]

Well, completely ignoring the Smallville part, because I think the show runners of that series made it pretty clear that Lana was not Clark's true love, there's a lot wrong with the rest of what you said here.

Firstly, DC is a business. They are in the business of selling comics, which tends to require them to not alienate their fanbase. So, yes, they should absolutely take fans' opinions and wants into consideration. That's not them "caving" or "giving in" or whatever. That's them actually listening to their fans and actually giving them what they want. That's what a business like DC is supposed to do.

Secondly, again, its not a matter of fans being impatient. Its a matter of them not wanting to rehash developments that already took place long ago. Again, we saw the Clark/Lois relationship unfold and culminate in marriage...twenty years ago. Not wanting to rehash something that we all read is not being "impatient," that's simply a want to move forward as opposed to moving backward in terms of character development. Lois and Clark are married and have been married for a long time. We don't need to rehash the telling of their romance again simply because some weren't around the first time they got married. I was 5 when they got married the first time, and read the story of their courtship and marriage much later on. People are able to catch up, even if they weren't there.

And lastly, did you even read their relationship first time around? Because they already went through all of what you're asking for. The got together, got engaged, he died, she grieved, he came back, they experienced problems, drifted apart, she went away, they got engaged again, and then ultimately got married. So, in short, they've done that dance before of drifting apart and coming back together out of their love for one another. We don't need to rehash it. All we need to do is move forward with their marriage.



Uh, yeah, I did read it, actually. You do know that the memories that Wally has brought back with him aren't the actual Titans continuity that Wolfman, Perez, and Grummet spent many years crafting, right? Instead, its that Frankensteined, Titans Hunt continuity that Abnett and editorial cooked up. He might remember NTT, but the rest of them do not. Now, I hope that when Wally sees Kory, Raven, and Vic again, he'll somehow re-instil in them the memory of them being together on the Titans, but it might require a change of the editorial guard. For now, they do not remember their most famous adventures together (aka the Wolfman New Teen Titans run), which sort of puts their "real Titans" status into question.

Are you telling me that Clark's life with Lois sometimes made you laugh, sometimes cry, and leave an ache in your heart whenever they were separated? Because I read the same stories, and I experienced none of that. If these two love each other, they should make us feel that way. You say they covered it? I say something was missing. In a time when stories are supposed to be better, it's not unreasonable to revisit things like this. But traditionally, comics aren't good at it. If someone dies, they can make it sad enough. But that's as far as it goes. I'm all for restarting all corners of the DCU from scratch, because I view it as a new opportunity to finally get it right.

Don't get me wrong. I love those old Superman stories. They were great. But at heart he's a boring character, and there's always room for improvement.

As for Smallville, they suffered from a serious problem. Past a point it all fell flat.

That's because they did too good a job of making Lex likeable. So good that when he turned evil, it defied suspension of disbelief. Everything tied into that turning point- the point he made a conscious decision to be evil- rang false. Including his seduction of Lana.

But even as far as that goes, timing, as they say, is everything. And Clark had the crappiest timing in the universe on that show. He and Lana belonged together. It was pretty obvious. The reason they didn't end up that way was the effort to keep it consistent with the comics. Starting with Lex going bad. It was those efforts that turned the entire series to rot. As evidenced by Rosenbaum's departure from the show. I'm sure he had his reasons for leaving, but the role had become one dimensional, and left him with no reason not to go.

The Walking Dead wasn't like that. When things seemed to be going in a certain direction, they didn't change gears just to keep it consistent with the original source material. Instead they went with it and let the show take the next logical course. As if they'd been paying attention enough to not repeat the mistakes of previous comic book adaptations. The result was, and still is, a pretty damn good show.

Rehashing is discussing or presenting the same story again, with no substantial improvements or differences. It doesn't apply to most remakes, even if they are comics. This was an attempt to make it new, and for that to work, it needs to be accepted for what it is, not what you think it should be. I tell you comics aren't what they could be and have always had room for improvement. DC thought they could improve the DCU by doing something they have done successfully in the past. I think they could have done it better, but it wasn't bad at all. Or perhaps I should say it wasn't all bad. Forever Evil sucked pretty much. But at least the New 52 wasn't like Marvel's Heroes Reborn. That crap was a train wreck.

But give DC credit for trying, even if a lot of it was half assed and lacked any sense of planning. That is to say, had they planned it better, it would have seemed to be the improvement it was meant to be. Unfortunately, the fact is that they had no such plan. Or if they did, they didn't consider it vital enough to stick to.

Yes, they should listen to fans. No, they shouldn't bend to popular opinion. Not if it means derailing a worthwhile course. But see, they shouldn't even be on a course unless there's a story to tell. If they are just shaking the proverbial tree to see what comes loose, then they would be better served to convene all the writers and have the benefit of their expertise. Of course, all these crossovers say that's not what they do at all.

I have wondered about how much the current Titans remember, because it was confusing to see him get together with a group calling itself Titans that only ever went by Teen Titans. But there is no reason to think the memory upgrade was at all selective. It was hazy, and they only seem to recall Wally himself. Not Linda, whom they should be well aware of. Until I see evidence to the contrary, though, I have to assume all the memories are there, and they just need something to jog them loose. As if the universe being reincarnated were some kind of trauma or something. Who knew?