Post by Batdan on Nov 13, 2005 19:47:40 GMT -5
Poll time!
In the midst of Infinite Crisis, there's speculation about whether or not DC is setting us up for a return to a multiverse: many earths, with different storylines and continuities.
Where do you stand on the issue and why?
I'll start:
I grew up on comics in the '70s and '80s and read tons of back issues that went back to the '60s and earlier.
Back then, I thought the idea of multiple earths had gotten out of control: Any blip in continuity was explained away by editors as "well, that's just another earth."
In addition, characters began moving between earths with increasing regularity, cheapening such events and team-ups.
What was once an intriguing idea had become a crutch. So when Crisis on Infinite Earths came along, I applauded the concept, and embraced the idea of a single Earth, with a single history.
Unfortunately, the creators at DC didn't go all-in and there were too many loose ends (see Hawkman, Donna Troy, Power Girl).
In addition, the proliferation of heroes on this single Earth, in my opinion, weakened the whole concept of superheroes -- i.e., how super can they be if every other Tom, Dick and Harriet had powers?
So 20 years later, I've come full circle. Bring back a strictly limited number of Earths: Give us a modern/Silver Age-based Earth, a Golden Age-based Earth, and a few others (perhaps an anti-Earth where the Crime Syndicate rules; a Captain Marvel Earth and a Charlton Earth).
If you limit the number of heroes on each Earth, their challenges become that much greater. If you limit the crossovers, they become special once again. You could even let the characters remember the past so the older stories aren't simply swept under the rug and they remain important.
What say you?
In the midst of Infinite Crisis, there's speculation about whether or not DC is setting us up for a return to a multiverse: many earths, with different storylines and continuities.
Where do you stand on the issue and why?
I'll start:
I grew up on comics in the '70s and '80s and read tons of back issues that went back to the '60s and earlier.
Back then, I thought the idea of multiple earths had gotten out of control: Any blip in continuity was explained away by editors as "well, that's just another earth."
In addition, characters began moving between earths with increasing regularity, cheapening such events and team-ups.
What was once an intriguing idea had become a crutch. So when Crisis on Infinite Earths came along, I applauded the concept, and embraced the idea of a single Earth, with a single history.
Unfortunately, the creators at DC didn't go all-in and there were too many loose ends (see Hawkman, Donna Troy, Power Girl).
In addition, the proliferation of heroes on this single Earth, in my opinion, weakened the whole concept of superheroes -- i.e., how super can they be if every other Tom, Dick and Harriet had powers?
So 20 years later, I've come full circle. Bring back a strictly limited number of Earths: Give us a modern/Silver Age-based Earth, a Golden Age-based Earth, and a few others (perhaps an anti-Earth where the Crime Syndicate rules; a Captain Marvel Earth and a Charlton Earth).
If you limit the number of heroes on each Earth, their challenges become that much greater. If you limit the crossovers, they become special once again. You could even let the characters remember the past so the older stories aren't simply swept under the rug and they remain important.
What say you?
