So I read a cute story by Karl Kesel (a true pro, it wasn’t his fault that he had to use the sliding time-line) in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual 37 (read) about the – ahem- first meeting between Captain America and Spider-Man. The footnotes said that this story took place between Avengers Vol 1 issues #11 and Avengers #16 (the mid-1960′s). The story itself was awesome. The problem was that unlike some other stories I’ve read where the artists and writer kinda makes a generic past time-period, or implies but does not expressly show that this could have happened 20-30 years ago, we have Captain America talking about Wiki. Wiki has been around since 2001, but was mainstreamed a few years later. If there was ever a shred of hope…a slither of sanity…that Marvel editorial was thinking about doing away with the 10-year sliding timeline, it was shattered with this reference. It’s just as bad as Mark Waid’s Superman: Birthright, which showed Clark Kent using e-mail. I felt insulted. Offended. It’s not that I was surprised, but it was still jarring. I was imagining how Captain America has no memory of the 1960′s to 1990′s. He was in suspended animation in the 1940′s and 1950′s and was iced out “around 10 years ago”. What a culture shock to be revived in the year 2000! And 30 years from now, when Wikipedia is but a footnote in our memories, he will tell Spider-Man about some other trendy device that people use in 2030 (in 2040, Marvel will still have the ten-year time line. ) I wonder if Cap knows he’s like a mindless automaton.

How should Marvel and DC Comics handle superheroes aging, origins tied to specific dates or wars, using trendy (and soon to be dated) references, and being limited to publishing an issue once a month? Here are some theories for you to think about:

1. Leave as is. Look, it seems as if the only people this really bothers seems to be continuity geeks, who have loud voices (myself included), although I could visualize casual comic book readers getting confused. To maintain the status quo held by Marvel and DC, one must defend and apologize for the Company Line, which is a) Young heroes sell; b) Old heroes don’t sell; c) Every generation MUST have a Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker, Lois and Clark; d) It screws around with MONEY made by movies, toys, clothes, and cartoon licenses, and lawyers have to get involved; e) Fans don’t want realism; f) Fictional characters are timeless; g) Real-time is creatively constricting; and h) The Simpsons, James Bond, Tarzan, and newspaper comic strips are successful franchises that use sliding time-lines; i ) In 2010, there is still Ultimate Marvel, where everyone is younger, there is still the M2 world, where a new generation is active, and “our” heroes are retired or dead. There is also Marvel Knights/MAX, which are dark and adult orientated comics (usually out of continuity). With so many different comic lines, there’s something for everyone.
2. Use in-story explanations, such as scientific, magical, or cosmic means to slow aging, reverse aging, or stop it all together. DC has done this with the Justice Society, Speed Force, Green Lantern, Superman, and others. I even read a 1970′s issue of Fantastic Four where they where hit with a ray that made them younger. Wolverine can live for hundreds of years. Others don’t have to age, like Hulk, Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Uncle Sam, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, and dozens (if not hundreds) of others. Almost everyone in the superhero or supervillain “community” can use artificial means to slow aging. Main problem: the non-super powered supporting cast would get left behind (Lois Lane, Alfred Pennyworth, Aunt May, et al). That means our heroes would need to get new supporting cast members. What a concept! [Footnote: Roy Thomas had in-story explanations for some of DC's supporting cast not aging in All-Star Squadron.]
3. Tony Vahl and Damian Hospital came up with a concept years ago where all of the superheroes wake up one day, look in the mirror, and see themselves as their real age in the present day. All past adventures were remembered. Obviously, to avoid this from becoming THE END, a new generation of heroes (their children and grandchildren) would be roaming around. Vahl and Hospital also tossed the idea of “Icons” around, similar to their Dream Seeker Universe books- timeless beings.
4. 10-Year Reboots. Amazing Spider-Man Year 1 to Year 10. Then restart the cycle with a new continuity. This allows aging (Spidey from 15 to 25) and keeps him young for corporate reasons.
5. Franklin Richards. DC already has done numerous reboots of their earth and time-line, and brought back the multiverse, so I am less concerned about their sliding time-line since they create stories to reset everything. Marvel is the twisted company that has made their universe 10 years old forever, and happily showcases stories to stamp out the 1960′s to 1990′s, which begs the question: what was the Marvel Universe like from 1945-2000? In 1945 they had a bunch of super-heroes like The Invaders, but the Age of Heroes (Silver Age) started 10 years ago! At least DC had created stop-gap teams like The Justice Experience. But I digress. Whereas DC’s comics in the Golden Age were generally like immortal Sunday comic book strip characters (we didn’t care if the characters aged or not), Stan Lee wanted Marvel to be “realistic” in the 1960′s, so his comics were real-time until the birth of Franklin Richards in the Fantastic Four in 1968 Things started to slow down a bit, and then come 1973 it hit a FULL STOP. This was a corporate or editorial “unofficial” mandate. The properties became too commercial. They did not want them to grow old and die in 60 years. .  Some writers disobeyed this unwritten rule, like Chris Claremont in Uncanny X-Men, and Steve Englehart…on any title. Well, we know that Franklin Richards can do anything. So we can say that HE created the sliding time-line to keep his parents young and to live in a safe world. At least we’d have an explanation, right Joe Quesada?
6. Let’s start over and do it right this time. Reboot everything- a HARD REBOOT, start from NOW, give new origins, and VOW not to use topical references, so “President Obama” is “The President”, and don’t mention movies, songs, and limit every day technology and clothing styles. Do not accept that 1 month of publishing time = 1 month of comic book time, so don’t age the characters fast.
7. Reboot now, but use the real start dates (Fantastic Four went up in the rocket in 1961). So a comic today would feature a new FF (although The Thing- assuming he survived his battles- would still remain since he doesn’t age).
8. Have two timelines: a sliding time-line for younger fans (if there are any around), and a real time franchise for older fans (me). Promote and care for both of them equally. Get the biggest brains in the industry to work out the details, guys like Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, Roger Stern, Jim Krueger, and Geoff Johns. See if Alan Moore wants to do something with this.
9. Compressed time-line starts at a certain year. We all know that one month of real time can’t equal one month of comic book time because of “TO BE CONTINUED” (one issue ends and the next one begins a minute later). Stan Lee didn’t really get this, as he wrote Silver Age comics in true real time, but ideally we are looking for compressed time. So…what year is it in the Marvel Universe? How about if we do a soft reboot from 1968, 1973, 1986 or some other year, and then continue on? I mean think about it: 12 issues could be one day in a superhero’s life, or a week. It’s never a year. Just a quick and dirty rule of thumb: 100 issues should equal 1 year instead of 8.3 years according to the cover dates (12 issues a year). As you can see, no one’s going to get old any time soon in this scenario. The difference is that the beginning of each comic would say the date and keep it real: “September 16, 1974″, just like Astro City.
10. Alan Moore’s Supreme. Every character remembers all their adventures from the beginning, and doesn’t sweat it. Heroes are more experienced, but also not too old. Time marches on slowly, and changes do happen. Perhaps there is another dimension where all versions exist as “icons”.
11. Grant Morrison’s Animal Man. The characters are aware “it’s just a comic”, similar to Deadpool, but not silly or over-the-top. More so like when the FF met Jack Kirby as God. “It is what it is.”
12. Any combination of 2-11.

• I personally am leaning towards splintering Marvel into two main timelines. Since fan boys don’t accept “out of continuity stories” (like “The End” or anything John Byne writes), now they would be forced to buy both lines since both would be canon! One earth would continue the 10-year sliding time-line, featuring characters that never truly change and are technically immortal (the current Marvel Universe), and the other-line would be real-time starting from 1968 or to 1973 (the time when Franklin Richards started to tamper with reality). This “real” universe would continue to use the numbering system (Fantastic Four #580) , while the 10-year time-line can go ahead and reboot at #1 like it’s been doing all the time anyway.
• For DC, they already have everything in place, but they haven’t applied it efficiently at all. They had brought back a multiverse with 52 earths, but don’t really showcase them monthly, and “New Earth” > all other earths. Mark Waid had created the concept of Hypertime years ago, but it was never applied after he left. DC needs to have at least one earth where we can have real-time for the real heroes, not inferior duplicates that no one cares about.
• I do not believe the reasons that Marvel and DC give to maintain the status quo are valid. I challenge that twisted tradition, especially since the target audience is no longer YOUNG KIDS or even 13-year olds, it’s….guys in their 20′s to 30′s+++!!!
• There are no limits to how this could be done. Heck, the Scarlett Witch muttered “No more mutants” and redid reality. She could say “Age” or “As it should be” or “As it really is”. DC has anti-matter. ‘Nuff said!

Whatever happens, ideally I would want:

• Characters that remember all of their past adventures and maintain their experiences. Current issues of Green Lantern are like this, without getting into dates. Current issues of Amazing Spider-Man are not like this: Peter Parker is still…very young and inexperienced. Marvel always got it right with The Hulk- he seems to remember everything.
• A genuine fear of death and a true beginning and end, similiar to decade long story arcs seen in Japanese manga. I don’t know about you, but episodic soap-operas bring out the worst in characters. It’s the problem of ongoing monthly titles: most characters can’t grow.
• DC is in better shape (believe it or not) and has a lot of in-story explanations (including SUPERBOY’S PUNCHES making continuity errors!!), however not having the current version Superman be the “first” hero just insults my intelligence. Superman being under 30 years old and only active in the last 10-15 years (max) is STAGNATION and DUMB. Superman is DC Comics, yet when he was retconned into Earth-1 and Earth-2, and then Earth-2 was erased in CRISIS, Superman being a “new hero” was just too mind-blowing. Same with the Fantastic Four- they symbolize the the birth of Marvel Comics… in the year 1961, not 2000. I would say that DC’s continuity could easily be refined into a Supreme or All-Star world, or fixing their 52 earths, while Marvel needs to play the Franklin Richards gambit or…JUST BLOW IT UP and start fresh.

What do you think?

Tags: alan moore, alfred pennyworth, avengers, Captain America, Chris Claremont, clark kent, comic book readers, Compressed, Continuity and History, dc comics, doctor doom, Doctor Strange, Franklin Richards, geoff johns, grant morrison, jack kirby, Jim Krueger, Joe Quesada, John Byne, Justice Experience, kurt busiek, Lois Lane, mark waid, President Obama, roger stern, roy thomas, Silver Age, silver surfer, spider man, stan lee, Steve Englehart, Supreme, time line, tony vahl, Universe, wikipedia