10 Comics Fan Theories Rejected By The Creators
Just because a fan-theory sounds like a great idea doesn't mean that it is true.
Over the years, fan-theories revolving around the most popular superheroes and supervillains have been devised out of boredom, misunderstandings, or inconsistencies in the characters and stories. As entertaining as some of these ideas are, they are usually pretty far-fetched and easy to dismiss.
Every once in a while, a theory is concocted that seems to make too much sense for it to be mere speculation. Is Galactus God? Was the Flash replaced with an imposter? Did Batman kill the Joker at the end of The Killing Joke? As soon as the question is posed, you can't help but consider it. Sometimes, the theory seems to fit so perfectly, you feel blind that you never noticed it before.
Fans will argue for years to figure out the validity of some of the most outlandish comic book theories. But if a comic writer disregards a fan-theory about a character they created, that's it. The game's up.
Although the writers have essentially disproven each entry in this article, it's still fascinating to see the crazy theories that readers have devised about some of the most famous characters in superhero literature.
10. Superman Was Replaced With A Sand Duplicate
In the Superman story, The Sandman, the Man of Steel battles a silicon-based double of himself. Superman gradually loses each of his powers while the doppelgänger obtains more and more of the Kryptonian's abilities. After it obtains all of the Man of Steel's powers, the sand-duplicate dies.
However, some readers hypothesised that Superman himself died after losing his powers and his double replaced him. This fan-theory is plausible because it could potentially explain future stories about Superman.
One month after this story was published, Doomsday debuted and killed Superman. When he came back to life, readers theorised that Doomsday killed the sand duplicate and the "resurrected" Superman was the real one.
However, it was revealed that the resurrected Superman was the real deal and he had returned to life using Kryptonian technology.
But the fan-theory didn't stop there. One year later, Superman found the body... of another Superman! The Eradicator validated this body as the real Superman, strengthening the sand-duplicate theory.
When the writer of the story, Walt Simonson, was asked if there was any truth to this concept, he dismissed it, saying, "All I can really say about this matter is that nothing I could say would be as interesting as the article."