Should I reboot Marvel?
DC’s New 52 reboot is one of the biggest things to happen to comics in decades. There’s no question that DC has done well to make their comics easy to read by removing most of their continuity. It was a risky move, but the result has once again put DC above Marvel in sales figures. With Marvel being delayed for the first time in years, it begs the question of whether it’s time for them to go on a total reboot, in an attempt to erase its increasingly convoluted continuity and become more accessible to new readers.
Yes, Marvel needs a reboot.
1) Its continuity is too messy
One of the biggest challenges for new readers of Marvel comics is trying to come to terms with the X-Men continuity. Spanning over fifty years, the X-Men books are almost unrecognizable to new readers. Gone is Professor X and his X-Men vs. Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, replaced by a universe where the former villains are now allies. Continuity isn’t just messy when it comes to the X-Men, though. Spider-Man suffered a continuity crisis when an editorial decision decided that the devil, Mephisto, erased Peter’s marriage and made everyone forget that Paeter Parker is Spider-Man. These are the kind of examples where it’s easy to justify a Marvel reboot.
2) They need more characters from diverse backgrounds
Where Marvel has become seriously stale is that they lack some diversity. Sure enough, Brian Michael Bendis is doing an excellent job of making Miles Morales a compelling new character in Ultimate Spider-Man, while Ed Brubaker keeps the Falcon one of my favorite characters, but Ultimate Marvel aside, they’re still missing. How would a reboot help introduce characters from different minorities? Characters like The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine and Iron Man are still incredibly popular because they are over fifty years old. Resetting the clock would allow Marvel to give new characters from various origins longer backstories and make them a central part of the Marvel Universe, rather than supporting characters. Marvel could incorporate Ultimate Nick Fury into the main universe, or even create some new characters, as seen with Marcus Johnson from the recent Battle Scars series. Now it’s time for characters from various backgrounds to be just more than supporting characters.
no to a reboot
1) Continuity can be restored more easily
It was easier to see why DC chose to reboot The Justice League. The team had become stale, irrelevant, and aside from the X-Men, had the most confusing continuity in the comics. They needed a new board. Marvel is lucky not to be in that position yet. While they’ve gone a bit overboard with events lately, it’s becoming clear that they know what works and what doesn’t. With financial problems, Marvel was forced to cancel titles like Alpha Flight, Dark Wolverine, X-23 and Iron Man 2.0. With the excess weight removed, Marvel should have time to focus on improving their existing lines. An example should be Dan Slott’s work on The Amazing Spider-Man series. When Slott took over, it was his duty to pick up the series from the One More Day mess left by JMS and Joe Quesada. Now, Spidey is one of the funniest comics out there. More writers need to focus on cutting out what didn’t work before and bringing back the traits that made superheroes so compelling in the first place.
2) His characters have gone too far
Another problem with a company journey reboot would be that it would undermine the journeys that Marvel characters have taken in recent years. Writers like Grant Morrison, Joss Whedon, and Jason Aaron have worked hard to develop characters like Cyclops and Wolverine. Would all of that lessen if the X-Men line were rebooted?
The same applies to characters like Bucky Barnes and The Scarlett Witch. Both characters have had writers who have spent years developing them, so it’s hard to imagine a reboot that would clean up their continuity. DC showed just how ruthless they can be when Wally West was cut from the New 52 relaunch. I’d hate to see that happen to any of my favorite Marvel characters.
conclusion
Will Marvel Reboot? In my opinion, Marvel is likely to judge the future of their line of comics by how well their Avengers vs. X-Men is received. If the event hits mainstream publicity and sales are good, I imagine Marvel will hold off on a reboot and spawn big AVX stories, similar to what happened with Civil War. If AVX fails to impress, I feel like Marvel will probably initiate a reboot. After all, if the two best teams Marvel has fighting each other can’t succeed, then it’s definitely time to go back to the drawing board. There seems to be a trend with comics lately, as if they’re aspiring to be like the ’90s all over again, with over-the-top art, page after page of fighting heroes, and little substance. Marvel needs to change this as well if they want to keep up with DC going forward.