4. Because 'Comics Are Cyclical' Is A Bullsh*t Excuse
The accepted analysis and defence of Marvel and DC's tendency to reset their respective status quos is that 'comics are cyclical'. When they kill off characters for a big sales push, you best believe that character will come back a few years later - usually to tie in with the release of a new movie featuring the same guy. But the excuse is rubbish. Comics are cyclical in this nature because the guys writing these comics make it so (thanks to editorial mandate, of course). Marvel Comics would perhaps experience more static readership numbers if they stuck to legacy characters instead of reverting back and forth all the time. When I was a kid, growing up reading comics, I found it stupidly easy to understand the conceit that (if you'll allow me to use DC as an example) Barry Allen used to be The Flash, and that at that moment it was a guy called Wally West. And I was eight. To imply that new fans - of films or comics - won't understand that 'this costume used to be worn by someone else' is ridiculous, not to mention borderline offensive. At this point, it's a write-off that the comics are cyclical - the companies won't change their ways. But the MCU is still early enough in its infancy that it doesn't have to go the same route. Movies aren't cyclical, Marvel!