The DC Multiverse

AngryBadger

Curious as to what everyone thinks of this, and whether or not it should be brought back.

Personally I think it should, and will be brought back. There's stories about certain groups and characters that just can't be told in the current continuity, or at least can't be tld/handled in the best way, bringing back the multiverse would give creatores way more freedom with stories and properties.

Essentially this could be the first proper verion of the Ultimate line from DC, and they have a reboot crossover every ten eyars or so, so even if it did make continuity a nightmare, it can, (and probably would), all be re-set in another ten years.

But in the meantim we'd get to see some grade-A stories about properties given their own universe to play with. Nice and streamlined.

Fysh

Not that I'm the best person to state an opinion on this, given my tendency to avoid superheroes and ongoing monthlies, but...

Do we need more universes? (Yes, I've recently posted saying I like the Ultimates - however, I'd quite happily jettison the 616 universe or whatever the "mainstream" marvel universe is called, so that doesn't really work).

I've never really understood why fans get so obsessive with a character that they want more stories with that character, regardless of whether any of the history or personal development that in theory should have formed that character are supposedly present. There's only so much that one character can experience or go through. If it gets to the point where you make up extra universes and effectively have duplicated characters just so you can tell more stories with the same character - well, then I can only assume that the character never changes during those adventures. And in that case, I personally have no interest.

AngryBadger

Fysh wrote:

I've never really understood why fans get so obsessive with a character that they want more stories with that character, regardless of whether any of the history or personal development that in theory should have formed that character are supposedly present. There's only so much that one character can experience or go through.

I'd largely agree with that. There's no point to stories that just reproduce the same characters over and over again with slightly altered costumes/names/whatever. However in the case of unused properties, that simple couldn't be handled properly in a single continuity I think the multiverse concept would be interesting.

For example, i think a lot of B-list characters could benefits form their own universe, it's difficlt for, potentialy brilliant, characters to flourish in a continuity that's already dominated by several big guns. And in the case of the DC continuity you are talking about some of the biggest guns in the industry. How many properties have failed to take root because they in some way threatened the status quo of established properties like Batman, or Superman?

I think these kinds of properties, (and others that for whatever reason just couldn't exist in the present continuity), would benefit hugely from the multiverse re-introduction.

Fysh

I can see your point - to an extent I suppose that's the appeal for creators on Image; to be able to make their own superhero characters without having to bow down to someone else's established continuity.

I suppose to an extent my judgement on this is coloured by having been more of a marvel fan when I was reading superhero books regularly - there seemed to be lots of secondary characters who were just reinventions of longer-standing characters that were never really fleshed out enough in their own right (USAgent, War Machine, Thunderstike, etc) so the idea of those characters being in their own universe would be slightly boring.

There again, I can enjoy what if? or elseworld stories if they have an interesting premise behind them so I can see the appeal. I just always associated mainstream Marvel/DC properties as being tied to one big more-or-less consistent universe.

AngryBadger

Fysh wrote:

lots of secondary characters who were just reinventions of longer-standing characters that were never really fleshed out enough in their own right (USAgent, War Machine, Thunderstike, etc) so the idea of those characters being in their own universe would be slightly boring.

I'd completely agree with that. There are, and always have been a lot of second-string characters in any given universe that are just cheap knock-offs of established properties, or token representatives to various demographics, (see War Machine:Black iron Man Foo')