As a life long comic fan, I have strong opinions about the directions my favorite books have taken. More than often, I'm really happy with how things turn out or at least am surprised by the proceedings. Sometimes though, I can't help but to yearn for things to turn out differently. So today we're going to give into ego and delve deep into what I would have done if I was in charge of comics:
- I would have given Young Avengers the title of New Avengers coming out of Disassembled. Further, I would let these new heroes inspire the old before relaunching a new Mighty Avengers series, essentially following the trajectory of what Bendis wrote.
- I never would have brought back Barry Allen. He only serves to remind readers of the boring old days while sidelining the truly interesting Flash, Wally West. Instead, if they really wanted a Barry Allen series, I would have launched a 'Tales of the Flash' series, set in the past and staring Barry. Then everyone wins… but I would win more.
- If I was in charge, Spider-Man would still be married. Call me a sucker for the MJ/Peter love story, but I can't imagine Peter with anyone else. The only thing that happened when they magically divorced those two was resetting the timer to when they'd get back together. My money's on 2016.
- I would have Harry Osborn be the mastermind behind the Clone Saga and subsequently becoming the Lex Luthor of the Marvel Universe. Not only would it make sense in the scope of the story (Harry was behind the Peter's parents are robots plot), but it would have made for a great legacy of villainy for Peter to combat. Way better than the coffee shop owner/American Son nonsense that we got…
- I never would have cancelled Darkhawk. He was the greatest hero of the 90s, and didn't deserve the obscurity that he got!
- Instead of relaunching Spider-Girl with the same creative team three times, I would have (on that third try) tried a different team. Mayday Parker is a great character that didn't deserve the languishing sales and stagnant story progression that she got. I get that Defalco created her, but you know, even Stan Lee had to give up Spider-Man eventually.
- Assuming that I still went through with the New 52 thing, I would have made a clean break from the past continuity. If you're going to do something as drastic as the new 52, it doesn't make ANY sense to hold on to bits and pieces. You may think that you're appealing to the fans, but really you're just making it harder on yourself.
- Honestly, if I was in charge, I never would have done the New 52. Drastic universe reboots are a surefire way to alienate fans and make it harder to explain stuff to new fans. "Oh, do you mean Pre-Crisis Batman? Or Post-Crisis, Pre-Flashpoint?" Ridiculous!
- I would have canned Chuck Austen after his terrible Romeo and Juliette riff in Uncanny X-Men and would have kept him far away from New X-Men after Morrison left. That was the worst!
Those are what I would have done. What about you?
