Quote:

the G-man said:
But this is comic books we are talking about. The fact that anyone, Drake, Kirby, whomever, killed off a character previously doesn't mean they can't come back.

And its not as if DC was a slave to continuity in the 70s either.

Look at all these WTF moments that were retconned or forgotten during that decade.




That's actually a very good point.

When it comes to major events in comic books, nothing is set in stone.
Anything can be retconned away.

    The death of Alfred in the Infantino DETECTIVE issues. (Can you say: "The inside story of the Outsider" ?)

    The death of Phoenix. (I stopped caring around X-MEN 175, with the whole Madeline Pryor thing)

    The death of the Green Goblin. (They just replaced him with a new Hobgoblin character. And then brought back Norman Osborn too ! )

    The death of Robin. (Just how many Robin characters have they replaced him with now? )

    And one of the greatest blasphemies for me (after such a perfect Goodwin/Simonson run in DETECTIVE 437-443) was they brought back Manhunter! (In SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPERVILLAINS )


There was a fan-press article out in 1989 in the COMICS JOURNAL, during the whole BATMAN: "A Death in the Family" 4-issue storyline (by Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo), that talked about how, before the fourth issue was even on the stands, DC management had already prepared to introduce a new Robin to replace the recently murdered Jason Todd.

Starlin was quoted as being really pissed off about it. That he felt like he had contributed something to the whole Batman mythology. And then DC immediately rendered it meaningless by instantly whipping out a new Robin.

He appealed to a DC executive, who told Starlin: "We've got to. His picture's on a million lunch boxes." Or words to that effect. Gotta keep that franchise going. And plausibility be damned !



I guess that's part of the fun of this topic: We all know none of it is written in stone. But it's funny as hell, the implausible contortions Marvel and DC put their universes through, to keep those franchises going.



I've been re-reading my Marvel CONAN comic book run lately. In a powerful war story, Conan's red-bearded mercenary friend Fafnir loses his arm in combat and then dies pointlessly in issues 19 and 20. Then another 100 issues later, another writer brings him back with the sword and sorcery equivalent of a bionic arm ! I mean, come on...

And I guess whether Aunt May's time travel in an Iron Man suit is any more plausible than an alternate universe crazy-as-fuck Superboy, whether an O'Neil/Adams Batman is any more "realistic" than a Frank Miller Batman, or than a Loeb/Lee Batman, or whatever, is all in the eye of the beholder.