Thursday, July 10, 2014

Status Quo, "Huge Changes" and the Parental Figure

In comics--at least the main two companies--there never seems to be much of an actual lasting change for the characters. Someone gets publically unmasked? Find a way to undo it. Characters are seen as too old for being married? Get a means to retcon it to live out the "glory days." Basically bringing them back to square one in various ways. Needless to say it's one of the reasons I get sick of the more well known characters. There's illusion of change without much if any actual growth. Take Spider-Man for example and you'll know what I mean.


But you know what I think I could come up with a way to create a status quo changer. Something that honors what came before without reusing the same stories (i.e. going back to the marriage) that gives Peter Parker some much needed maturity. In MC2 universe Peter has not just a daughter and son but unbeknownst to him a nephew, Ben Reillys' son. Why not reveal that kid exists in the regular Marvel Universe? That not only gives him a legacy but also parallels Peters' own relationship with uncle Ben. I'm not suggesting that Peter raise the kid (because that wouldn't fly with the current portrayal) just try to be responsible and help out. Reilly Tynes' mother is in jail in MC2 although she could be released then act as a supporting character (NOT a romantic interest for Peter or Kaine.)

Peter would have the guilt of knowing Ben Reilly died saving him whenever he saw the boy. Can he be a good uncle like his own and teach him to be responsible? Does the kid have powers? It also creates potential storylines for Kaine who tormented Ben for years and is seeking redemption. Now you may be saying "but doesn't this age Peter too!" Well less than Franklin Richards and Normie Osborn do. Reilly Tyne would be about three or four now. Besides they could be vague about the timeline although he likely would have been conceived when Ben was Spider-Man which was just before he died.

The problem is......I don't trust Marvel with this idea because I could easily see them killing him off for the sake of drama. Because in the end it always seems to go back to the same old status quo.

4 comments:

  1. It's a nice idea...but I agree...Marvel would just screw it up. The Illusion of Change, is indeed their...and DC's mantra.

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  2. I hate that Marvel/DC have to keep going back to the status quos and "putting the genie back in the bottle." Good stories have development.

    I don't know if Rip being Boosters' kid is still canon but it definitely was a creative way giving Booster a big change. It's just sometime in the future but it still has to happen for all of creation to exist. The Time Master job it's self was a big shift from where the character started off.

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  3. I can't think of Rip as anything else...now. It was such a fabulous idea...and perfectly coherent, when you think about it.

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  4. I feel the same way. It just works so well and there's really no reason to change it. Time traveling kid(s) from the future can work!

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