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Comics can be so much fun; unlimited special effects budgets, cool costumes, bizarre locales. BIIIIIIG problem; time. Granted, having a book come out once a month gives you a pretty decent amount of lee-way as far as how quickly someone ages. Still, considering many of the big names have been around since the '40s, well, um.. guys... um... AREN'T YOU A LITTLE OLD TO BE DOING THIS STUFF? There have been a few times when a BIG change seemed to be on the horizon for our intrepid heroes. Unfortunately, juuuuuust when things seemed to get interesting... DOH.
1. New Batman. Ok, I love Bruce Wayne... BUT.... There's a problem with the Mighty Triumverant, if you will, of Super, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Supes and Wonder Woman aren't lowly mortals... Bats is. Enough of being eternally 30, let's see what REALLY happens. That was the perfect opportunity with Knightfall. No, no, you don't need Azarael or Nightwing taking over, but how about having Bruce NOT recover; what does that do to him? How does he handle no longer having this crusade as his crutch? AND... who do you find to take over? The beauty of 'Batman Beyond' is you can see this happening; a very cranky Bruce hangs it up, but this kid who is a lot like Bruce... and Tim.. and Dick, takes over. Knightfall would have been a perfect opportunity to adjust the legend; let Bruce TEACH someone to be the bat, have a new young-gun take over and learn the mystery, the legend, and the responsibility of being the Dark Knight. Oh well, such is life.
2. Death of Captain America. Another GREAT chance to totally change the story and character. When I first heard about this, it sounded like a great way to honor one of the fine golden-age characters. I was envisioning something like 'The Death of Capt. Marvel'; no giant fights, no craziness... just Cap finally coming at PEACE with himself... maybe something really mushy like Bucky seeing him in heaven. Ok, ok, corny, but appropriate. Just like the problem with Batman, how long can you keep this guy going at 30? Another opportunity to let a character die with dignity and take on the challenge of creating something totally new. Oops.
3. Supes and the new powers. This actually made sense. The guy has been absorbing solar radiation for 30 years, NO ONE knows what that's going to do to a Kryptonian... and then you make the energy go away? Oh boy... Ok, so the suit sucked. I can respect that... I personally hated it. BUT, the idea of Clark dealing with new abilities and limitations was very cool, and his powers were AWESOME; manipulation of energy across the board. We're not just talking hurling lasers, folks; changing your size, seeing all parts of the spectrum, REALLY moving at the speed of light... whoa. And then all of a sudden, when you AREN'T being a superhero, you're... normal. No more bending bars while you're in Clark's suit. No more using super-breath behind anyone's back. Oh boy.
4. The 'bad' Tony Stark. Where in the heck did this come from? Ooooooooookaaaaay... so after all these years, this guy is a... what, clone, doppelganger, lost twin, cyborg sent to take over the world? Whatever, folks.