7 Reasons You Should Give Up Superhero Comics In 2017

There is a difference between a reboot and a relaunch, though they often achieve the same goals. A reboot, as traditionally used, usually means a complete alteration to the plot, characters, and spirit of a property. A good example is John Byrne’s Man of Steel reboot from the mid 1980s that retold his origin, eliminated key aspects from the Silver Age and provided a fresh Superman to tell new stories with. A relaunch doesn’t necessarily make any drastic changes to the core elements, but it does shake up the status quo. The New 52 was a reboot; Rebirth is a relaunch.

If you look at the stories from the Silver and Bronze ages, change was a constant. Peter Parker graduated high school a mere four years after his debut (he spent over a decade in college, though); Reed Richards and Sue Storm got married, pregnant, and became parents all within the sixties. But as time went on, these types of things became fewer and further between. Characters began aging much more slowly; changes were superficial, not milestones. The focus became “the illusion of change” rather than actual growth. And if too much growth has occurred, be prepared to reboot or relaunch. Either one will result in an unearned feeling of change that is ultimately false.

They’re not doing it because they love telling bad stories; it’s a consequence of working on corporately owned characters. Even though Dick Grayson’s entire character arc is training to someday replace Batman and it made perfect sense that he would take up the mantle and mentor Batman’s son (orphan redux), Grant Morrison’s work on Batman and Robin had to be undone and downplayed because Bruce Wayne is Batman in the eyes of the general populace and must remain so to be profitable. Superheroes, despite all of these attempts to seem progressive, are completely opposed to progress. They’re constantly repainting, but the structure stays the same.