What Were They Thinking? Worst Comic Ideas.

[Numion]

there was NOTHING arbitrary about it. Magneto is MASTER OF MAGNETISM. he controls metal. Wolverine's entire skeleton is made of metal. It makes PERFECT LOGICAL SENSE for Magneto to rip the greatest advantage out of one of his most dangerous foes. The only flaw is ...why didnt he do it SOONER?

Just speculating here, but wouldn't it actually be safer for Magneto to have Wolvie keep the adamantium? Because he is, as you put it, MASTER OF MAGNETISM. Wolverine with no metal in his body is very very dangerous to Magneto, because he can't control it. Wolverine with metal in his body is basically helpless before magneto, as portrayed in the movie X-men.

Just a thought, don't know if this was actually described in the comics.

 

[WizarDru]

Regardless, my point is worrying about any of that was silliness in and of itself. I didn't understand the overwhelming need to retcon history in a comic book, as if said history actually mattered. Streaky and Comet could've just as easily never been mentioned again, and in a couple of years, nobody would remember them save the geekiest of fanboys. There did not need to be two Supermans (Golden and Silver), two Batmans, two Flashes, etc. Crisis on Infinite Earths was an ugly attempt to appease the continuity gods. Besides that, it was just painful to read which is really the main offense.

Actually, it was a rampantly successful attempt to garner sales and new readers. Crisis received generally good acclaim for both writing and art (as opposed to most huge 'crossover' events that would follow). I'm not a huge fan of Crisis, but let's be honest here...at the time, it was very big deal. The core readership was thrilled to see all the toys come out of the box in a way that had never been done before.

As for Superman, his rewrite was long overdue. Sales had diminished for DCs most recognizable character...and this only a few years after two very successful movies (and around the time of one terrible one). Superman had become too anachrnostic and silly, and DC was carrying the weight of 40 years of haphazard continuity on it's back. Comic readers lapped up Byrne's 'Man of Stee'l miniseries, which not only gave Superman a fixed continuity but also made him an interesting and limited character again. It was a very visible way to attract new readers, clean the slate and move on. The redefinition of key relationships within the DCU, most notably Batman and Superman, was the key to DC staying viable.

Oh, and Numion, concerning Wolvie being safe from Magneto if he doesn't have his adamantium skeleton? That all depends on the writer. Movie Magneto would have big problems, but comic Magneto has had not problem tossing people around like ragdolls due to the 'iron content of their blood'. It really all depends on which writer and what mood he's in, I think.

 

[TiQuinn]

Actually, it was a rampantly successful attempt to garner sales and new readers. Crisis received generally good acclaim for both writing and art (as opposed to most huge 'crossover' events that would follow). I'm not a huge fan of Crisis, but let's be honest here...at the time, it was very big deal. The core readership was thrilled to see all the toys come out of the box in a way that had never been done before.

I'm not saying it wasn't successful. Spiderman #1 with the bagged multiple variant covers was successful. Youngblood, Savage Dragon, and Wildcats were successful too. So were a lot of the spinoff crossovers that resulted from Crisis' success. It's just that, IMHO, like these, it wasn't that good. It also wasn't such a necessary step to acheiving the goal of continuity-nirvana as some want to make out.

 

[Aulayan]

Just speculating here, but wouldn't it actually be safer for Magneto to have Wolvie keep the adamantium? Because he is, as you put it, MASTER OF MAGNETISM. Wolverine with no metal in his body is very very dangerous to Magneto, because he can't control it. Wolverine with metal in his body is basically helpless before magneto, as portrayed in the movie X-men.

Just a thought, don't know if this was actually described in the comics.

IIRC, he did it in a moment of anger. Wolverine got close, slashed at him. Didn't actually pierce the skin, but there were 3 intersecting X's in Magneto's shirt from Wolvies claws.

So Mags saw how close Wolverine came, got angry, and tore the adamantium out of Logan. Probably hoping it would kill him.

 

[garyh]

Wow that RAD!!! I haven't seen that in forever!

Glad you liked it! Those images came from Cosmic Rust, so pop over there to see more. They've got a HUGE gallery of TF cover art for all the different comic lines that have been done.

EDIT: While I'm thinking of it, here's the infamous Spidey issue as well:

 

[Particle_Man]

I wasn't a big fan of "traitor" ideas. Hal Jordan as insane, Hawk as a supervillain. Bleh.

And didn't the Silver Age Hawkman turn out to be a spy working for Thangar, and his human wife Hawkgirl found out during the Invasion! crossover maxiseries, so he killed her, and the Martian Manhunter covered it up to preserve his heroic status, and then I don't know what happened to that Hawkman. Was he ever punished? Or did he just remain in limbo until he merged with all the other "hawkmans" during Zero Hour? Anyone know?

 

[Klaus]

During Invasion!, Hawkman fought alongside the JLI against the thanagarians. Later, when Hawkman was re-inserted into DC Continuity, it was established that the Hawkman that fought alongside the JLI was (and had always been) the Golden Age Hawkman, Carter Hall (even though he was supposed to be with the JSA fighting Ragnarok)...

When Tim Truman did the masterful Hawkworld series, instead of saying that it took place some years in the past, DC opted to have Hawkworld be a totally fresh start for the Hawks, and had Katar Hol and Shayera arrive on Earth in the present. Of course, that goes against all established continuity, in which the thanagarian heroes were present on Earth for years (even after Superman's reboot).

A similar thing happened with Wonder Woman. After the George Perez reboot, DC opted to have the Amazon meet the JL for the first time during Legends, invalidating all that came previously and forcing authors to re-imagine the foundation of the JLA with Black Canary taking WW's place...

 

[Kahuna Burger]

You're refering to Circuitbreaker, and yes, she was on the team, though she was actually introduced about 30 issues before they decided to make a team. She was the sole superhuman in the TF universe for a while. Circuitbreaker was actually made parapalegic after being caught in the crossfire between Autobots and Decepticons. That's why she hated the Cybertronians so much.

huh, she showed up in secret wars II to show the beyonder the importance of the spark of life... I thought she didn't fit in with the universe he was currently taking over for some reason...

Kahuna Burger

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Does Wolverine have admantium in his skeleton anymore in the normal Marvel universe?

 

[Villano]

Buzzard, I'm glad you used GL/GA as an example, because I havent read a lot of old Hal stories and I was basing my opinion almost entirely on the gl/ga series, the first 50 issues of the current green lantern series and emerald dawn which is the new "official" origin of hal. it was clear to me that hal was not in touch with reality at all. (hence the choice to have the real world explained to him by GA) Anyone who can't see that Hal was so far out of touch with reality is probably gonna try to convince me that Batman is sane too.

Hal never looked into anything for himself. he was oblivious, then took GA's spoon-feedings. follow the guardians, follow GA, follow the league. The man defined himself by his surroundings constantly. So when one of the places he considers "home" is destroyed it, and the woman with who he has an unhealthy relationship that he calls love is presumed dead...he snapped. Everybody has their breaking point. ALmost anyone wouldve snapped in the same situation. Hal was definately NOT above snapping. the idea that he is the greatest hero ever is a joke. he is a sad little clay man with vast cosmic power who will fight whatever evil you point him at and nothing more.

I think you're alone on your views of this one, too.

Oh, and I also remembered a few other bad ideas in comics:
New Character, Major Changes

Who finally killed Superman? Was it Luthor? Brainiac? Darkseid? Nope, it was a brand new character, Doomsday.

Who broke Batman's back? New guy, Bane. Who did Batman turn over the cape to while he was crippled? Another new guy called Azrael.

What villain cost Aquaman his hand? Charybdis. Never heard of him? Join the club! I think it was his first appearance.

If you want to tell a story that is supposed to have a deep emotional impact on the reader, why have it be done by a character that has absolutely no emotional attachment for the reader?

Speaking of new characters...

Meaningless Canon Fodder

I absolutely hate when a writer casually kills off a character around for decades to show that a (usually new) villain is evil. Three or four members of the original JSA were wiped out in one panel by Extant during Zero Hour. Several heroes, including Kid Eternity and the golden age Sandman, were killed by Mordru when the new JSA series began. And Justice League Europe was murdered the new Mist in what has to be the most complicated and ridiculous trap in comics.

The JLE deaths really stand out since they were the European branch of the Justice League, but fell prey to a single woman whose powers were limited to turning into steam and shooting people with a gun. We can save Europe from alien invasion, but we can't handle one half of the Wonder Twins.