Ahh, comic books, that microcosm of literature that somehow
manages to work every internet nerd into a steely-eyed, froth-mouth frenzy of
rage if one tiny thing is changed about the characters they’ve followed from
the time they were old enough to read, up until present day, where they rant
with their keyboards via their parents Wi-Fi connection. All the typical things
like “You ruined my childhood!” and “This isn’t canon!” and “My mom got me Cool
ranch Doritos instead of Nacho cheese!”
We’ve
been seeing changes from both Marvel, as well as DC as they provide their
respective universes with a bit more diversity, and even enable writers to
start with a new approach to classic heroes in order to attract new fans.
As of
this writing, the latest item that’s filling Marvel’s hate mail (Do people
still actually send letters anymore? Or is all internet hate directed via online
forums and email?) is their decision to “retire” Tony Stark and replace him
with a 15 year old GASP! African-American
DOUBLE-GASP! girl! TRIPLE-GASP!
Immediately
thereafter, all the narrow-minded, stuck in the past, obsolete fan boys (and
maybe girls?) scream their collective disapproval, and then shit themselves in
disbelief.
In
recent times we’ve also had DCs New 52, and now DC’s Rebirth, along with Marvel
creating Marvel Now, and not to mention their efforts at making Miles Morales
(the new Spider-Man), female Thor, New Wolverine (X-23) and so on and so forth…and
in all these instances at least a segment of the comic fan base became irate
and complained endlessly.
Obviously,
I’m writing about this because I have an opinion, and here’s where I’ll tell
you what it is…
…As at
least a casual comic book fan since 1992 I think this type of thing is amazing
and here’s why:
As a
fan, in many of these heroes’ cases we’ve seen them in action for nearly
three-quarters of a century (or more). More or less, every story arc that can
be done has been. We’ve seen them beat up every manner of bad guy (or gal), we’ve
seen them love and lose, we’ve seen them fight our other favorite heroes, we’ve
seen them broken, lose everything, and even die, only to come back as if
nothing ever happened. Why on earth would you want to have writers rehash the
same story, and cover the same ground that’s been done for decades?
As a
writer (term used loosely, I am a filthy,
filthy amateur) rebooting, or retooling these characters provides fertile
ground to yield fresh ideas. When you think of Wolverine for instance, it’s a safe
bet you know the origin, the experiences, the famous battles and moments of his
fictional life. Further, I could argue, due to Wolverine’s personality, you can
almost predict (based on circumstance), where the character will end up. But
you don’t know X-23’s because they haven’t been written yet! You see what I’m
getting at?
As a capitalist,
I can also understand why Marvel in particular can’t just say, well fans want
more diversity in their heroes, so let’s create a brand new one. Names like
Iron Man, Thor and Spider-Man are more than just household names; they are
brands in and of themselves! It could conceivably take years to build up the
popularity and name recognition of a new hero or heroine, and why risk that
when from a creative perspective it lends itself to produce dynamic ideas that haven’t
been done before?
Personally,
some of my favorite books are the ones that never took place in their
respective universe’s continuity. Books like Old Man Logan, Marvel Zombies,
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe
are all great because they break the rules of what you might expect from
certain characters, settings or origin stories. In other words, I want to see
something new!
In
short, to all you naysayers out there: STFU!
Only after, the new Iron Man (Wo-man?,
Girl?? Person???) is released then and
only then do I give you permission to whine, piss and moan.
Actually, no I take that back, we still don’t
want to hear your ridiculous opinions, and to be clear no one cares about your
childhood.
