Should Marvel reboot like DC?

[Whofan]

So with DC relaunching it's titles with mostly new continuity, should Marvel do the same? Or has it technically already begun?

Although UNCANNY X-MEN and INCREDIBLE HULK are getting new #1s later this fall, they seem to be in the same continuity, just with some shake ups in the status.


There is of course the Ultimate universe, but that's really developing in it's own tangent with the new Spider-Man and all.

Speaking of Spider-Man, technically he was 'rebooted' with the whole One More Day/Brand New Day thing which wiped his marriage from existence. Still, old remnants of the continuity remained. Heck, the current storyline Spider-Island has links to the largely unpopular Clone Saga.

Marvel did of course debut new #1s over a decade ago with most of their titles after the whole Onslaught/Heroes Reborn thing, but they all stuck to established continuity.

Granted, Marvel might already be starting things. Cable will return later this year, and his reappearence is supposed to "change everything forever". Some fans have jokingly referred to this upcoming Cable crossover as "Cablepoint" after "Flashpoint" which was the catalyst for DC's reboot.


So should Marvel start fresh, reboot it's characters with new origins and new continuity? Or stick to the increasingly silly Marvel time/sliding timescale?

 

[FPAlpha]

What for?

Marvel tried it with its Ultimate line and it worked very well to some degree (breakouts were Spiderman and the early Avengers) but the main universe works well in its formula and our bitching about ceative death and the same all over again and again hasn't stopped them from earning money.

I'm no DC follower so i don't know what is changing with their total reboot but i guess Superman will still be from Krypton and Batman will still have seen his parents murdered. These basics are the same whatever reboot you're looking at.. the only things that change are details and maybe a more modern style.

 

[Mysterion]

Like FPAlpha says, they already did that with the Ultimate line a few years back. I think it was alright for the most part. Liked the first two series of The Ultimates with Millar and Hitch doing the book, and the early issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four were pretty cool, too. But then, they've already re-booted the Ultimate line, too, so...

 

[Forbin]

I'm having enough trouble keeping up without starting all over again!

 

[RoJoHen]

I would really like it they rebooted with an X-Men series that will never have crossovers with other comic lines. That's always been my problem trying to read comics; there are too many titles to follow! I would really enjoy a self-contained comic book series that doesn't require reading have a dozen other comic book series to understand what's going on.

 

[Forbin]

^I'm with you!
I used to get a lot of titles, but lately I've tried to pare it down to just the few titles I enjoy - Spidey and The Avengers. I nixed X-Men because there were too many X-titles and it was getting too damn confusing. Hell I'm 54 years old - I still like comics, but I don't want to have to buy tons of them just to follow a storyline. I just want to get a few favorites every month, spend an evening reading them, and move on to my other hobbies and interests.

 

[Nerys Myk]

No,they should to it better and smarter than DC did. A total cold turkey continuity cutoff with no carry overs.

 

[Captain Qwert Jr]

I dont believe they can. DC has mostly classical heroes. You stick 'em in a plot and let them go. The drama comes from how they deal with it.

Marvel gets it's drama from the lives of the hero. You subtract their pasts and complex social situations, you take away from them. Anyway, you're just going to get the equivalent of a greatest hits album performed by cover artists, if tried.

That and the talent to pull such a thing off simply doesn't exist anymore.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Marvel tried a clean reboot in the late 90's. It was so successful that they undid the reboot within a year or two.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Heroes reborn? Wasn't that a half assed reboot?

 

[Skellington]

Heroes Reborn was for the most part technically the same characters with their memories changed etc. It was probably conceived as providing a jumping-on point for potential readers while not permanently changing the continuity.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I don't pay enough consistent attention to Marvel to comment on their content. That said, it's pretty certain that within the next couple of years their business approach will shift in the direction DC's taking.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I don't pay enough consistent attention to Marvel to comment on their content. That said, it's pretty certain that within the next couple of years their business approach will shift in the direction DC's taking.

I doubt it. In a couple of years (heck, much sooner) DC's titles will be back to where they were, maybe a bit higher but nothing spectacular.

We'll see what happens by issues 3 and 4 of their new series.

 

[Admiral_Young]

No. Brevoort has said this will not happen.

 

[Shazam!]

Heroes Reborn was for the most part technically the same characters with their memories changed etc.

And in another Universe, sent there by Franklyn Richards after their apparent 'death' at the hands of Onslaught.

I actually quite liked it but that was because I knew it was a limited run and would ultimately lead back into the regular Marvel Universe (I think I remember the 616 Doctor Strange showing up and then going back to the 616 Universe to convince everyone that the Fantastic Four etc were still alive).

 

[Saga]

i would rather Marvel fix its existing problems. like getting Bendis off Avengers.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'd have Hickman take over on Avengers...I agree though Bendis has stagnated the title and made it uninteresting.

 

[Saga]

I'd have Hickman take over on Avengers...I agree though Bendis has stagnated the title and made it uninteresting.

i love what Hickman has done with the Fantastic Four. i've never been a fan of Bendis work on Avengers though. Avengers Disassembled is one of the worst comics i've ever read.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

i've never been a fan of Bendis work on Avengers though. Avengers Disassembled is one of the worst comics i've ever read.

Avengers Disassembled is what got me to start purchasing the Avengers book. Never cared for it before then.

Though overall you're right, I think Bendis does much better with his solo series than group.

 

[Saga]

i've never been a fan of Bendis work on Avengers though. Avengers Disassembled is one of the worst comics i've ever read.

Avengers Disassembled is what got me to start purchasing the Avengers book. Never cared for it before then.

Though overall you're right, I think Bendis does much better with his solo series than group.

i like his solo stuff fine. loved 'Powers', i just don't like his Avengers stuff at all.