Welcome back, everyone! Just a quick reminder of what our goal for each and every Saturday is: Stirring the pot is the act of causing trouble for the sake of your own amusement. So we here at Comic Booked would like to formally invite you to discuss, debate, and start some shit talkin’ about the characters, the creators, and the storylines given to us from the industry we all know and love, hate, and love to hate. So let’s quit wasting time and start the mud (or web) slinging!
This Saturday’s question: Which characters are (or were) better without origins stories?
Does reading the secret origin of Wolverine still make you feel a little like it’s a crappy attempt at retelling The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Whenever they redo Wonder Woman’s origin, doesn’t it get a little less believable? Wouldn’t it be cool if we never really knew anything about where Superman came from? Does the fact that even the Joker probably doesn’t really know his own origin make him that much creepier? And even though we have his parents dying when he’s a kid and his training just before the events of Year One, doesn’t part of you kind of enjoy the fact that we don’t really know much about the origin of Batman? Or do you love origins do you absolutely need to know every single detail about your favorite heroes and villains?
So go forth and debate! But be sure to back up your responses. Don’t be scared. And don’t give up. After all, no one likes a quitter. And you’re not a quitter, are you?
I enjoy a well-written origin story, but don't appreciate the origin story being retconned when a new writer comes on board. If the origin is done, then you need to work with it – not change it so that it's not even a recognizable character.
I agree that I don't like an origin being ret-conned by later writers or because a character gained popularity through other forms of media. But sometimes I don't think an origin is really necessary.
Look at Ghost Rider, the Blaze version didn't get a full origin until way later in his series with certain hints dropped here and there. Same with the Ketch version, his origin wasn't told for a very long time. My understanding now it neither origins are in use now for no reasonable sense and it pretty much killed my interest in any new stories featuring my former all time favorite Marvel character.
Sometimes origins aren't really needed. I was happy with no origin for Darkhawk. He didn't get a fully fleshed out one until recently and I was fine with that.
While I liked the origins for the Ghost Riders I was happier with no origin for Darkhawk. Same with Terror from Terror, Inc. he was more interesting with bits of his past told.
But once an origin is told it needs to be foundation. No changing it because times change or popularity dictates it.
I agree.
Yeah, unfortunately DC is often times just as guilty as Marvel when it comes to bad retconning or origins (or entire stories, for that matter).
I still stand by my opinion that Origin is not only the worst origin story of all time, but possibly one of the worst written comics ever produced. Period. It forever ruined the character of Wolverine for me as a reader and (at that time) lifelong X-Men fan.