Is it time to let go? Legends, Death and moving on
With everything in comicdom in flux, it's really left my head reeling about the future of the medium. My article on Marvel's changes in light of the future of their company and the new readership is only the tip of the iceberg. DC and Marvel have been at this for DECADES and have been riding on the same characters for some time. DC has always had Diana Prince, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. Marvel has had characters like Peter Parker, Steve Rogers and Logan, the Wolverine to fall back on. But for how long?
I noticed back in the eighties that Franklin Richards was still just a child and today, looking at the final issue of the Fantastic Four, he still can't be more than twelve! This is despite the fact that he was born in FF ANNUAL #6 in 1968! This is the state of the medium. Forward movement is slow and tedious and I actually understand this for the most part. But, to move on into the future, both the big comic dogs will have to make some sacrifices and changes.
With the FF dead, I would like to see Franklin Richards, at least, reach puberty. He is arguably one of the most powerful mutants on the planet; although I dare say, they will NEVER call him a mutant. I mean, if they do that, he'll have to be quarantined to another planet, right? Ahem! Anyway! It would be great to see him step forward in some way.
BUT, he's not the real problem. The real strain is for Marvel and DC to continue to ride a handful of characters to death (or not) at the expense of moving the story along. I'm sorry. I'm a writer and I think that way. And keeping certain characters alive and/or in certain positions for too long will stifle the story. But what I'm suggesting is also risky and could blow up in their faces. So, as usual, they go with the easy, recognized cash cows. I can't say I totally blame them. But, as I see it, certain characters are due a move on! (See that light? Follow it!)
The first one on my list may already be on his way to the great beyond; Steve Rogers!
He's been the main Captain America since World freakin' War II! Now, mind you, there have been a small army of other men who have taken up the mantle, but they were always just warming the shield up for good ole Steve! Well, it looks like Marvel maybe ready to move on. When last we saw Cap, he had lost his Super Soldier Serum powers and was aging away to nothingness. We also saw him armored up and kicking Tony Stark's ass. But I digress! And, although, Secret Wars promises us a virtual reunion with varied reality’s Steve Rogers, the Avengers flagship comic coming out of the smoke of a new world shows the latest incarnation, Sam Wilson, still carrying the stars and stripes! THIS gets my utmost approval! For, although I am old school and love to see the characters I grew up on flourish, I realize that all things pass. And so I celebrate Marvel for letting Rogers go, if that is what they are doing.
Another character that has to be dealt with is Bruce Wayne.
When they killed him off during the Final Crisis story-line, I applauded DC. I hated to see him go, but it was a gutsy move and I thought it appropriate. When the battle for the cowl broke out, I was estatic. For, as was preached to us in the Dark Knight Rises, Batman is a symbol, not a man. Once Dick Grayson cleared the smoke victorious, I felt that the story had moved on. THEN, DC pulled a fast one. Much like Marvel with Cap years earlier, they pulled some hair brained story out and, wallah, Bruce was back! He was freakin' shot by Darksied with the Omega beams!! And he's just back. Sigh. So, short of retconning the story back to the Battle for the Cowl, for now, Bruce is the Batman. Of course, there ARE murmurings.
The appearance of the 'RoboBat' post Convergence has left everyone wondering where Batman is going to. I mean, no respectable member of the Bat Family would be caught dead in that contraption, right? Of course, we know who's in the suit (thank you spoilers) and we know it's not going to last. But there's this other snippet with Bats going all Neo on us and seeing everything. It's almost like he's reached some kind of godhood. Maybe with the impending doom of the NEW GODS, an even newer group of gods will appear. SO, DC, if you're handing the cowl over to someone else and letting Bruce pass, I congratulate you for the the guts that I did not think you had. If this is just a cheap gimmick to bring Bruce back bigger and better, I'm ashamed of you.
Don't you think it's time for men like Steve Rogers and Bruce Wayne to step aside and allow someone else to build a legend for future generations? Or a better question might be; Can we even move past the characters who made the icons? Can we let them die and keep the legend of the character alive?
An even harder character to EVER think of parting with is Peter Parker.
As the most iconic character Marvel has, it is hard for me to see a time that they would ever let Parker just die. He, to me, is the hardest death to take for a company. So many people relate with Parker. Not Spider-Man, PARKER! The hapless loser that stands in the face of impending doom and fights back every time is our hero. Selling Morales in that spot would take much longer, in my opinion, than convincing someone of a different person wearing the costumes of Captain America or Batman. But I'm hoping that the Secret Wars gives us Peter Parker, the family man, who possibly retires from the public eye and lets Morales take the forefront. But will Marvel take such a leap?
This all begs the question of CAN we deal with the actual death of our heroes? Is it possible for Marvel or DC to actually live without a character that has been loved for over 50-70 years? The better question is why they would ever give up a character that is a virtual cash cow?
Logan, the Wolverine died just a year ago in an amazing sendoff and a rebirth of all the people who he effected. Now, that world is over. And we are venturing into a Secret Wars with a virtual army of Wolverines! Are we to just forget all that and welcome Logan back to the lovely saturation we were all used to before? Probably not, seeing as the Mutant franchises are all being put in a corner in the new Marvel reality. But that still doesn't stop the Wolverine from making a comeback this year and cheapening death once again. I knew it was inevitable, but does it serve the story? Or does it just serve a fanbase that brings in the bucks? I'm not sure.
But, I dare say, we're about to find out. As Marvel and DC rushes to reboot (or whatever they're calling it), will we see a return to the old guard again, or will they finally be able to move the story along and let the dead stay dead? And for a character like Bruce Wayne, will he be able to pass the cowl on to someone else? I see Sam Wilson staying Captain America for some time. But the transition to a new Batman or Spider-Man will be a bit dicier if not downright impossible. I'm just thinking, somewhere down the road, the brain trusts of both comic companies are going to have to come to grips with this very question in order to have their stories go where they need to go to fully move on to the future.
