Fame
And heres the rub. Unfortunately, no matter what I say, nothing can change the fact that these are famous characters now. Theyve been around for decades and have multiple interpretations. Everyone and their brother has an idea of how certain characters should act and Heaven help the writer who crosses them. The old joke is a Star Trek fan will accept a talking ball of floating gas or paradox-free time travel without question, but will lose his mind if Spock cracks a smile. Creators have to contend with the varying perceptions and expectations among the fan base on top of their own biases and beliefs as to how these characters should appear. The disappointing truth is the main reason you hate comics now is: you. Youre too attached to how comic books SHOULD be. Its us, the angry fanboys who take to the internet calling for Bendis head. (Would you really want to please people who call you an idiot anti-Christ when you know theyre going to buy the books anyway?) WE ridicule new fans for not knowing the intricate history and only knowing about the movie universe. (No new readers = no incentive to ever change the current model) If WE would just let go of our strict guidelines for what constitutes a good comic and just allow ourselves to be entertained - you know, just read the book without worrying where it fits into continuity and whether or not Batman would ever say something like that. If we would just accept that these are stories, being told by people about fictional characters well all be a lot happier. Would Batman ever say that? He would in this story. Does this mean issue #36 never happened? Issue #36 ALWAYS happened, whether or not its currently in-continuity or not. If we let go and stop being so tense about every little change, well enjoy ourselves a lot more.