So, here on What Were They Thinking? (the place where we look at all of the stupidest, most ill-advised things in the history of comics) we don't tend to look at current storylines (so storylines published with in the last year, currently being published or to be published soon), we mostly look at storylines from at least 5 years ago and, more often than not, earlier. However, there has been one occassion where we have looked at a more recent storyline, when we looked at Spider-Man's Clone Conspiracy crossover. That was what Marvel were doing last year, but what about DC. They were doing Rebirth at the time, which was their way of fixing the dumpster fire that was the New 52. It's not like they would do anything to ruin their legacy whilst trying to salvage it right? They'd never bring back classic characters from classic storylines that should be left well alone right?
Oh wait
Riiight... Ok.
Sorry, this weeks What Were They Thinking is going to be a bit shorter than usual. I urgently need to go out and buy a large whole tuna and a plane ticket to California.
Does the idea of well coming up with new characters not enter there heads.
Why not keep batman away from watchmen?
Because why take a risk on new characters when you can use characters that it’s established that people like and will sell? Why do you think superheroes never pass on their mantels or die and don’t get revived.
You obviously haven’t read any of the recent Marvel stuff. Pretty much every major character has passed on their mantle.
I meant DC. But hey, at least Marvel are doing something right *sees Captain America is leader of HYDRA and that Doctor Doom is Iron Man* ah that’s more like it.
It’s more that it’s a bad mix, Watchmen was it’s own thing with a set story in a different world one where super man worked for uncle sam.
One with complex murky inter character relationships.
The other thing is it’s not like the Comedian is batmans counter part, Batman is not as cynical or a nihilist like the Comedian.
And it makes no sense for the Comedian to be watching batman.
It’s not a lack of ideas… Quite simply, it’s economics. The publishers don’t want to grant editorial control to their creative talent, they really LIKE the idea of “Work for Hire”. The talent would rather have creative control, so they won’t bother to create new characters just to have them become “Valuable Corporate Intellectual Property” for the next few centuries, or at least get some kind of royalty payment that the Publishers don’t really want to bother with.
So, they tend to hire third rate hacks who WILL work cheap, but who want to play with established characters… Hence Captain America shouting “Hail Hydra” as he pushes his longtime partner out of an airplane! {Hey, I’m not saying it’s a GOOD idea…}
But, the days of people like Julius Schwartz editing comics is long past. You can either ride close herd on the writers, and not let them do ANYTHING new… or, you can give them free reign, and “The Superior Spider-Man” ensues…
They might, eventually, find some happy middle-ground, but, it’s not likely to be anytime soon.
Well as it turns out money is what there thinking.
You see there’s a reversion clause in Moore and Gibbons contract, if DC stops useing the characters for a year, then they become Moore and Gibbons to do with as they please.
Yeah, money does lead to more worthlessness . . .
Hey remember that last one What they were thinking and talked a bit about the time when Batman knocked out Guy Gardener well I found this.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f6/bd/28/f6bd28db5a3b281549b75fc31185bd5f.jpg