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Topic: Why were all the superheroes created in such a narrow window? Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Rebecca Jansen
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 2:37pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

I thought the new(ish) Ms. Marvel, and Squirrel Girl, were genuinely new to some extent.

Lobo, Spawn, Deadpool... while I might make a face at them maybe, do seem to have a real following.


Edited by Rebecca Jansen on 16 March 2018 at 2:39pm
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Michael Roberts
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 2:44pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

There are several post-2000 Marvel characters, even if you set aside the legacy characters. I’ll point out that Jessica Jones, the Runaways, and Quake are all currently featured in TV shows, and while they are older characters, the current lineup of the Guardians of the Galaxy is relatively recent. 
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John Popa
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 2:49pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

The last thing everyone was excited about at once? Probably Stranger Things, which came out a year ago.Off the top of my head, there are plenty of movie franchises around still that didn't start in the 80's - Fast and the Furious, Despicable Me/Minions, Jurassic Park is still plugging along, Pirates of the Caribbean ... horror has had Saw, Paranormal Activity, Scream, The Ring.

The 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' books were all the rage seven years ago or so. The 'DaVinci Code' stuff was huge long after the 80's. And, as you mentioned, 'Harry Potter' and 'The Hunger Games.'

The character being the draw in a big movie franchise is hardly new. It's kind of the point. A lot of newer action heroes tend to move toward less mainstream fare when given the chance, though, whereas 80's stars like Stallone and Arnold stayed in the same blockbuster market. Harrison Ford went from 'Star Wars' to 'Indiana Jones.' Chris Hemsworth went from 'Thor' to 'Rush,' a biopic.

Sure, there's a massive market for the nostalgia of the 80's - all us 80's kids are in our 40's after all and we have the buying power.

As someone who easily gets tired of nostalgia and sequels, there's plenty of new stuff out there.


Edited by John Popa on 16 March 2018 at 3:09pm
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Rebecca Jansen
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 2:49pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

Groot however is older than the Fantastic Four. Groot still speaks to us (even if all he says is "I Am Groot!")
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Peter Martin
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 3:12pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

No new boy bands...no new Britney Spears...it's the same acts that ave been around for a decade still closing at all the major events.
Lady GaGa...Justin Timberlake...really
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Go back 10 years from today and Lady GaGa hadn't released an album yet. She's not exactly a dinosaur. By definition, to become the kind of established act that closes a major event, you need to have been around a while.

That said, Adele, Bruno Mars, Bieber, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift... There are plenty of big stars that have either sprung up in the last decade or only really sealed their global fame in the last ten years.

As far as big actors... Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence are genuinely big movie stars.

Media franchises... Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, Fifty Shades are phenomena of the last decade.

Franchises that are younger than the 1982-1984 window you mentioned: Fast & Furious, Pokemon, Toy Story, Saw, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, Tomb Raider, HALO.

Shows making stars: ever heard of One Direction? They've a lot bigger than Ruben Studdard ever was. Camila Cabello is pretty big these days too.

Hot books in recent years: the Da Vinci Code isn't new, but it's post-millenial. Ditto The Kite Runner. The Gruffalo has become a phenomenon in recent years. Back in franchise land there's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and its sequels and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The Help. And of course, the aforementioned Fifty Shades.

A big emergence has been the young adult franchises. Twilight. Divergent. Eragon. I won't say they are good, but they are relatively new and very popular.

There's plenty of new stuff.
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Peter Martin
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 3:16pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

And in terms of something new that rips through the world like wildfire? 

I give you... Despacito.


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Adam Schulman
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 3:55pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

There are several post-2000 Marvel characters, even if you set aside the legacy characters. I’ll point out that Jessica Jones, the Runaways, and Quake are all currently featured in TV shows, and while they are older characters, the current lineup of the Guardians of the Galaxy is relatively recent. 

***

Geoff Johns and the artists he worked with on JSA also came up with new Justice Society characters several years ago, although some were new characters with old names. Same with Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers. (He also came up with the Japanese "Super Young Team" and the Chinese "Great Ten.")
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Rebecca Jansen
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 4:58pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply

The fates of some latter-day superhero creations are revealed here... basically they were not really needed or wanted.

http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics3 33.html
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Drew Spence
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 5:18pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

The fates of some latter-day superhero creations are revealed here..
Oh my. How did you find that? lol
Well, I guess we do have some new media to digest...
I guess I'm hoping for some kind of [insert precious metal] age- type thing.
But if you think about it, maybe TV is going through that now with all the numerous hero-themed shows and spin-offs.

Someday, I/we might look back and miss when there were so many shows and movies coming out so close together. Even if the content isn't too new.
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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 5:46pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

Back when I was getting into the business, writers were grumbling about holding back on creating new stuff, since "I don't want to give Marvel the next Spider-Man."
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You would think that creators would just save their brilliant new heroes for some creator-owned independent series--but they don't.  Modern writer and artists seem to eschew super-heroes when they do their own projects, preferring instead "edgier" stuff.

In the past 25 or 30 years, only one new, original, non-derivative, non-satirical, super-hero has emerged, lasted, made an impact--Hellboy.
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Eric Jansen
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 6:07pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

DC's period of great character creation was extended a few years when Ditko and Kirby gave them the Creeper and the New Gods, etc. (They also retroactively got Ditko's Blue Beetle, the Question, and his version of Captain Atom when they got Charlton--which of course led to WATCHMEN.)  I would probably throw in Black Lightning and Firestorm as great later creations (not that that much of worth has been done with them), extending DC's period of creation to the mid-70's.

Over at Marvel, the period of creating great characters also ended in the mid-70's with Spider-Woman, She-Hulk, and maybe the original Ms. Marvel.  Though those are obviously derivative, they all have enough unique qualities to make them great.

I don't count the Guardians of the Galaxy as great latter day creations since all the members go back to the 70's (Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax) or even 1960 (Groot).  Knowing how she came about, I still think that Jessica Jones is "spiritually" Spider-Woman (a Jessica who became a p.i. when she lost her powers for a while).  I might have to (begrudgingly) count Deadpool and Squirrel Girl as great later creations because they have displayed originality, grown in popularity, and creators seem to love them--though they're both from 1991...27years ago!
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Peter Martin
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Posted: 16 March 2018 at 6:23pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply

Not a hero, didn't originate in a comic, and has an element of derivation, but I still think Harley Quinn bears a mention.
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