Marvel Comic's sliding timeline & its problems
- Thread starter EJA
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I dunno, but ignoring it would've been sensible, given that anyone being at all upset about 3000 deaths on Earth-616 or New Earth would be narratively retarded given that both those world's Americas live in a state of constant superhuman-driven genocide.
Dr. Doom crying over the September 11 attacks is the most asinine, insulting panel in the history of comics; and Magneto even showing up is just obscene.
Maybe it was really Xorn's other brother, who thought he was Osama bin Laden.
Skywalker said:
From 1956-2001 this was DCU SOP, and it was fucking great. Kevin Smith is a stupid fat jerk.
Nerys Myk said:
What about the Mad Mod, or Dazzler?
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Time is fluid in the comics. Sometimes the storylines last a few hours, sometimes a few days, sometimes they can jump a whole year. The average storyline in a comic book lasts five or six issues, then a new storyline typically starts after that. Are we to assume every major storyline happens immediately after the last one (unless specified)? If so, the characters would never get any down time.
Continuity has become a labyrinth. Confusing and constantly looping back on itself. Comics survived for decades with out "strong continuity" that requires a PhD in X-Menology ( as an example) just follow the story. "Keep it simple stupid" is the best continuity, Superman is Clark Kent, he works for the Daily Planet, his pals are Jimmy, Lois and Perry. His arch enemy is Lex Luthor. Thats as "Strong" as it needs to be. You dont have to have every issue bleed into another.Sounds like the worst of both worlds - through constant revisions, each more weighted down by expectations if not continuity than the last, you lose much of a strong continuity's color, but you're still expected to do the hard work of following it, lest something important but arcanely complex happen!
No, thanks.
Ignoring fashion, dates and topical references that have become outdated have little if any impact on continuity, anyway. Its fiction, all you have to do is stop mentioning them. Having the FF mention the Beatles, dance to disco or joke about Charlie Sheen doen't really figure into how they will defeat Dr Doom, save the world and get out debt. It wont affect the next time Doom shows up. He's not going to say "Bah, Richards! Your love of disco music sickens me more than your ineffectual, subpar intellect!"
Myasishchev said:
Which proves my point, To paraphrase James Kirk "Bad ideas, let them die!"
Nerys Myk said:
What about the Mad Mod, or Dazzler?
She will always be the Disco Dazzler to me.
She, Longshot and that Prince rip off character from Spider-Man should form a support group for characters who's looks were dated before the ink was dry.Nerys Myk said:
What about the Mad Mod, or Dazzler?
She will always be the Disco Dazzler to me.
Nerys Myk said:
What about the Mad Mod, or Dazzler?
She will always be the Disco Dazzler to me.
Thanks to the sliding time-scale, she is now referred to as The Grunge Dazzler.
Nah, but she is the Marvel Universe's Lady Gaga.What about the Mad Mod, or Dazzler?
She will always be the Disco Dazzler to me.
Thanks to the sliding time-scale, she is now referred to as The Grunge Dazzler.
Has anyone here read Marvel: The Lost Generation? It was a 12-issue series published in 2000-2001 that chronicled the adventures of the First Line, a group of superheroes active from the early 1960s up to shortly before the Fantastic Four gained their powers and the current age of heroes began.
^ Yep. John Byrne. Liked it. It went more or less chronologically backwards as a time-traveller went further into the past, if I recall.
I pretty much subscribe to Spiff's take as well. That being said there is a ton of retconning that goes on as well. Take for example Jonathon Hickman's reworking of Sheild and Hydra history that now spands centuries instead of being World War II nemesis. There have been little tweaks and revisions here and there.
An issue of X-Men Unlimited stated the year of Magneto's birth as 1928. He and Charles Xavier first met one another around ten years prior to FF#1, according to the Unofficial Chronology of the Marvel Universe. Also according to the UCMU, Charles was born 36 years before FF#1, making him 26 at the time he was introduced to Magneto.
Suppose the FF debuted in 1987 (which is what I've been thinking). Being born in 1928, Magneto would have been around 49 when he first met Charles. Is it at all conceivable that he would be able to relate to a person over twenty years younger than him, and think of him as a close friend and equal? Charles would already have spent some time in Vietnam by this point, but that's about it really.
Suppose the FF debuted in 1987 (which is what I've been thinking). Being born in 1928, Magneto would have been around 49 when he first met Charles. Is it at all conceivable that he would be able to relate to a person over twenty years younger than him, and think of him as a close friend and equal? Charles would already have spent some time in Vietnam by this point, but that's about it really.
You've read different comics to me, the ones I read seem to delight in consistently pointing out that Dick isnt as good as Bruce, either via outright stating it or making subtle references.
Is this not the Spider-Girl universe?
^ I have to admit to lack of familiarity with the Spider-Girl universe, though I think that it was set about 15 years from "now".
I believe that, at least around the time the Spider-Girl universe started, the concept was that the heroes had aged normally since the 1960s. So, May Parker (Spider-Girl) was born mid-80s or something.
After getting through this thread, the five years of real time for one year of comic time estimate that seems appropriate to the Marvel Universe has worked so far. Historical real world events just get shifted around. I don't have a problem with that. It doesn't make much difference to me if Frank Castle was in the Vietnam Conflict or the Iraq War, nor does it make a great deal of difference to his character.
It doesn't matter when Fury takes his serum or when Captain America gets taken out of the ice. It wouldn't matter really if the comics retconned Fury to be the son of the original really.
It doesn't matter what music Dazzler sings. It doesn't matter that Iron Fist was based on Bruce Lee. Heck, it doesn't matter that a lot of the early Marvel concepts were inspired from the "trippy" acid imagery of the late sixties.
Magneto's holocaust roots were not part of the original character and can be changed again without doing much to his actual motives. Just transport him to another conflict to give him a reason to hate Homo Sapien. He could pretty easily be Eastern Bloc European from the sixties of seventies, for example. A couple of decades from now, his family could have been killed by the Bosnian Serb army. Being part of the holocaust was a poignant retcon, but not one that has to permanently remain with the character.
Most comics still give the history of what the reader needs to know to enjoy a story right there in the convenient flashback panels. Marvel also publishes its "_______ SAGA" that provides a convenient wrap-up narrative of the history relevant to a modern story.
It doesn't matter when Fury takes his serum or when Captain America gets taken out of the ice. It wouldn't matter really if the comics retconned Fury to be the son of the original really.
It doesn't matter what music Dazzler sings. It doesn't matter that Iron Fist was based on Bruce Lee. Heck, it doesn't matter that a lot of the early Marvel concepts were inspired from the "trippy" acid imagery of the late sixties.
Magneto's holocaust roots were not part of the original character and can be changed again without doing much to his actual motives. Just transport him to another conflict to give him a reason to hate Homo Sapien. He could pretty easily be Eastern Bloc European from the sixties of seventies, for example. A couple of decades from now, his family could have been killed by the Bosnian Serb army. Being part of the holocaust was a poignant retcon, but not one that has to permanently remain with the character.
Most comics still give the history of what the reader needs to know to enjoy a story right there in the convenient flashback panels. Marvel also publishes its "_______ SAGA" that provides a convenient wrap-up narrative of the history relevant to a modern story.
At what point did Magneto become a Holocaust survivor? I thought that was always there once his origin was established.
I would argue that the Punisher has to be a Vietnam Vet. So much of his characters and his old stories were built into the madness and corruption that went on in that war. I remember reading a lot of stories about him going after other 'Nam vets who went rogue.
I would argue that the Punisher has to be a Vietnam Vet. So much of his characters and his old stories were built into the madness and corruption that went on in that war. I remember reading a lot of stories about him going after other 'Nam vets who went rogue.
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