posted
Great answers/thoughts, guys, to an interesting question!
I currently watch Fringe and Once Upon a Time and have watched/read many other 'alternate reality' and 'rebooted' and 'continuity additions or reworkings' stories over my long years with myths/sci-fi/fantasy media.
I tend to just take it in stride, although I like to sometimes play with continuity ideas, like Ex and others have stated that they like to indulge in from time to time, too. And for all the reasons that they've stated.
My perspective is as a visual artist, though, so my solutions might be more literal. The example used, the Legion 'parents', I just took at face value and created characters for.
I agree with Kent's terms, as well. I think that DC had a harder time than Marvel because it's an older franchise, which makes keeping things straight, even before any rebootings, more difficult.
When Marvel started, IIRC, everything (or ALMOST everything) was written/drawn by one team, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
That kind of cohesiveness hasn't been possible since those very early days, in any of the largest companies.
Reboots are needed, I'm afraid, since even stretching lifespans only works so long when characters have events happen in their lives.
Even on sitcoms like I LOVE LUCY or Everone Loves Raymond children are born and character staples get sick and die. imo
There is tight continuity, as exemplified by the Stan Lee 1960s model, in which if the Hulk farts in his own issue, it is cross-referenced when Peter Parker hears it all the way across town. This system works when there is a sigular vison to keep multi-series vectors interactive (a la Lee) or when there is a large staff devoted to keeping track of this (such as within a movie, in the Lucas Star Wars universe, or even in the heyday of TV soaps).
I believe that the long-term goal of the 52-boot was/is to establish this type of continuity at DC. It'll be interesting to see how long they can keep it up.
-------------------- First comic books ever bought: A DC four-for-47-cents grab bag that included Adventure #331. Been addicted ever since.
From: Stuck in the Psychedelic Era | Registered: Jan 2010
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quote:Originally posted by Candlelight: Even on sitcoms like I LOVE LUCY or Everone Loves Raymond children are born and character staples get sick and die. imo
Well, sure. After all, those characters are played by actors - who ultimately quit/get fired or get old/sick/die. Even on the Simpsons, a show which doesn't have to deal with aging so directly, a few characters have been written out due to actors quitting/dying.
-------------------- My views are my own and do not reflect those of everyone else... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Silver Age Lad
Part-time member living in another century
posted
quote:Originally posted by Candlelight: I think that DC had a harder time than Marvel because it's an older franchise, which makes keeping things straight, even before any rebootings, more difficult.
When Marvel started, IIRC, everything (or ALMOST everything) was written/drawn by one team, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
That kind of cohesiveness hasn't been possible since those very early days, in any of the largest companies.
Reboots are needed, I'm afraid, since even stretching lifespans only works so long when characters have events happen in their lives.
imo
The problem with DC was that each comic and even strip within a comic was pretty much stand-alone. So the Atlantis in Aquaman bore no resemblence to the Atlantis in Superman and so on.
Even when characters crossed over (World's Finest or All Star) quite often a different Atlantis or whatever was created.
With the Silver Age and later DC tried to create a consistant universe but had too much legacy. This was probably the main reason for Crisis on Infinite Earths - to get a single consistant universe. But different editorial teams have continued to protect their properties and the inconsistency has grown back.
Reboots can to some extent solve problems caused by bad editors but what reboots do clear up is the problem of aging heroes (unless you have a relaunch where Batman has still had countless Robins while only being a young Bruce Wayne).
The Legion, having started out as kids and not having the dynamic of a 'current' timeframe should not need reboots. It is only the knock on effects of changes to Superman and Supergirl and possibly Mon-El and XS that cause problems for the Legion. DC know this and appear this time around to have at least tried to grasp the nettle.
-------------------- "Our devotion to each other was unexplainable" "You were kids" "No Batman, we were Legion"
From: Ancient Kingdom of Northumbria, UK | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Yes, Reboot, I was trying to take into account what Kent was saying about sitcoms where the episodes are self contained and used interchangeably.
That is done, but life and scripted events still date the episodes. Lucy's little Ricky was scripted in to coinside with Lucy's real first child, for example, but her second real child wasn't written into the timeline.
I suppose that the relevance to the Legion is when the creative teams add relationships, marriages, children, injuries, resignations, new members, updated tech, etc..
Tech especially, which hit the Star Trek series, for example. That's super important to the Legion, which is why Levitz changed parts of the origin continuity this time, even though he was trying to keep most of the original boot storylines and characters.
-------------------- 'In the twinkling of an eye' I'll be dancing in the sky!
Come, join me!
From: Salem, Oregon USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Silver Age Lad - I agree, but in the earlier days, weren't most of the characters 'owned' by their creators? We know that Superman and Wonder Woman were and are, anyway. I know that family ownership was why Diana and Bruce couldn't appear on Smallville, IIRC. And I think I've read in some interview or something, that that's why there won't be any Superman, WW or Batman descendants in the Legion this time around, no Laurel Kent or Kent Shakespeare.
I also think that in the precomputer/internet days it would have been very difficult to keep different creative teams and stories aligned. Look how Wonder Girl was taken literally by the Teen Titans creators/editors and it was only discovered later that she didn't even exist in their timeline since she was Wonder Woman at the time. I think the problem was the medium itself, more than DC not caring or trying.
-------------------- 'In the twinkling of an eye' I'll be dancing in the sky!
Come, join me!
From: Salem, Oregon USA | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Candlelight: Lucy's little Ricky was scripted in to coinside with Lucy's real first child, for example, but her second real child wasn't written into the timeline.
Actually, Little Ricky was born when Desi, Jr. was born. Lucy was pregnant with their first child (Lucy, Jr.) when they filmed the pilot, and she was born before the show's first season.
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
So, anyone want to write up a new "order of membership"?
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Silver Age Lad
Part-time member living in another century
posted
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: So, anyone want to write up a new "order of membership"?
It's not just the order but also how. Jo for instance couldn't have had the same initiation test.
-------------------- "Our devotion to each other was unexplainable" "You were kids" "No Batman, we were Legion"
From: Ancient Kingdom of Northumbria, UK | Registered: Aug 2007
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Ha! Ha! Darling, you're such a Silly Sandy!
From: Gorilla Nebula Pub | Registered: Jul 2003
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Silver Age Lad
Part-time member living in another century
posted
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: So, anyone want to write up a new "order of membership"?
1-3 Cosmic Boy/Lightning Lad/Saturn Girl
4 Triplicate Girl
5 Phantom Girl
6-8 Chameleon Boy/Colossal Boy/Invisible Kid
9 Ultra Boy
10 Brainiac 5
11 young Superman/Superboy?
-------------------- "Our devotion to each other was unexplainable" "You were kids" "No Batman, we were Legion"
From: Ancient Kingdom of Northumbria, UK | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Added the reference to Lydda and Rokk holding hands in Adventure #9, and Sorcerer's World being back in Legion of Three Worlds (from this thread .)
[ April 15, 2012, 07:47 PM: Message edited by: Ken Arromdee ]
Registered: Apr 2010
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