10 Comics Changed Due To Fan Backlash

To quote Mallrats' Brodie Bruce, "You f**kers think just because a guy reads comics he can't start some sh*t?"

Few fandoms are as passionate and territorial as comic book fans. For better or for worse, comics fans - including us here at WhatCulture - will painfully plead their case on heavy hitting matters such as why Superman forever needs to have red underpants over his tights, and why Gambit is far cooler than Wolverine.

The point being, comics fandom is one that is never afraid to speak its mind.

As a result of this strong-willed mentality, comics fans have often caught the attention of those in the industry with both their praise and their displeasure. And on that displeasure front, while some comics creators are happy to ignore any negativity that comes their way, other times we've seen a fan backlash be so strong that action has had to be taken to go back on certain decisions.

Here, then, are ten examples of when the backlash of comic book fans forced some of the biggest comic book companies in the industry to rethink their output and make major changes.

Remember when brutal mute Cassandra Cain was one of the most intriguing and interesting characters in comics?

That seems like forever ago, and, in reality, we are talking about the Cass of 15-20 years ago. For a spell, Cain's Batgirl was one of the very best characters in the comic book industry, particularly when it came to the unique relationship she had with Tim Drake.

These days, Cain feels like a bit of an afterthought, usually seen as one of the oft-changing roster of The Outsiders. When it comes to where things went wrong for the character, one glaring example of fans lambasting DC's decision making process was when the call was made to turn Cassandra Cain into a full-blown villain.

Granted, Cass had previously been seen to take a darker slant over the years, but the One Year Later landscape of DC Comics positioned her as the head of the League of Assassins and eradicated the nuanced semblances of 'good' that had been established in the character since her debut.

Instead, Cassandra was now a maniacal murderous sort who was intent on turning fellow heroes to the dark side - all with zero logical explanation.

Fans hated it, and the push back saw DC having to worm their way out of this experiment by falling back on the lazy excuse of daddy issues. Said daddy issues saw Cass swayed by the words of Deathstroke, who used his position to manipulate Cain through a mind-controlling drug.