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Evan S. Kurtz
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 July 2022
Location: Canada
Posts: 197
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| Posted: 07 December 2025 at 7:50pm | IP Logged | 1
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The tag line: Be wary, lest you be trapped within his web of intrigue!
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Robert Bradley
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 September 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 4948
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| Posted: 08 December 2025 at 4:19am | IP Logged | 2
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That Mr. Immortal/Dinah Soar origin could have made for a great story.
This is the unfortunate thing about serialized storytelling. If you're successful enough to create characters like the GLA or Alpha Flight that outlast your participation on the characters your subject to the whims of others who may not understand the characters, or worse yet, find them disposable.
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Rick Whiting
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 22 April 2004
Posts: 2260
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| Posted: 08 December 2025 at 5:21am | IP Logged | 3
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This is the unfortunate thing about serialized storytelling. If you're successful enough to create characters like the GLA or Alpha Flight that outlast your participation on the characters your subject to the whims of others who may not understand the characters, or worse yet, find them disposable.
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The good thing about fictional comic book stories is that you can retcon, ignore, and never mention again any stories that contradict or stray too far away from a character's original creator and restore the characters back to what their creator originally envisioned them to be.
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Andrew Davey
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1467
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| Posted: 09 December 2025 at 8:15pm | IP Logged | 4
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Okay, it took a minute, but I just got the Theo joke. LOL
Getting slow in my graceful aging process.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 135383
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| Posted: 09 December 2025 at 8:40pm | IP Logged | 5
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How would you do with a series about the tremendous pressures of working in a large metropolitan hospital? DOCTOR STRAINS?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 135383
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| Posted: 14 December 2025 at 2:17pm | IP Logged | 6
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The good thing about fictional comic book stories is that you can retcon, ignore, and never mention again any stories that contradict or stray too far away from a character's original creator and restore the characters back to what their creator originally envisioned them to be.••• Once. But in recent decades there has been an increasing tendency among fans (and worse, fans turned pro) to insist that everything be sacrosanct, even to the point of rendering as canonical concepts that had been no more than ideas not expressed in the books—until somebody decided they werecool. This is where the X-Babies came from, and Wolverine’s bone claws. Sometimes it seems the dumber the idea, the greater the likelihood it will be “preserved”.
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Rick Whiting
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 22 April 2004
Posts: 2260
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| Posted: 15 December 2025 at 1:29am | IP Logged | 7
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Once. But in recent decades there has been an increasing tendency among fans (and worse, fans turned pro) to insist that everything be sacrosanct, even to the point of rendering as canonical concepts that had been no more than ideas not expressed in the books—until somebody decided they werecool. This is where the X-Babies came from, and Wolverine’s bone claws.
Sometimes it seems the dumber the idea, the greater the likelihood it will be “preserved”.
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This is why I think that Marvel and DC need to hire editors and creators who are willing to retcon/make non cannon, ignore, and never mention again any past stories that didn't (or no longer) work and/or have damaged the characters. These same editors and creators also need to not be afraid to tell the fans and any fans turned pro that these stories won't be referenced ever again and are no longer cannon and that they either need to get over it or move onto something else. I would also point out to those same fans and fans turned pro that many of the stories that they either loved or hated were also retcons and that it is a perfect example of why the notion that everything must be cannon is a stupid and meaningless rule. I would then point to hated stories like ONE MORE DAY, SINS PAST, THE CLONE SAGA, and numerous other stories as examples of why making past stories (including popular stories) non cannon and ignoring them is a good idea and is to the long term benefit of the characters.
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Jack Caleb Day
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 June 2025
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 16
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| Posted: 16 December 2025 at 2:09pm | IP Logged | 8
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Apparently the reason Lee and Kirby came up with the Mutant concept is so they didn't have to continue conceiving elaborate backstories and explanations for how characters gain their powers. It was difficult to constantly brainstorm unique but semi-plausible events that led to people attaining strange powers. So stating that a percentage of the population had a genetic mutation that caused them to develop powers, often at the expensive of strange side-effects and weaknesses, meant they could reuse this concept rather than constantly devising new explanations.
So it was partially born from laziness, but this isn't strictly a bad thing since it allows them to quickly devise more characters with an established place in the Marvel subworld. Also the existence of Mutantkind in Marvel has opened so many great story telling prospects.
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Jack Caleb Day
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 June 2025
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 16
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| Posted: 16 December 2025 at 2:13pm | IP Logged | 9
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Seperate point; one of the first comic's I ever owned was a 1990's Avengers issue featuring the West Coast and Great Lakes Avengers teaming up. Being around six and new to Marvel, I actually did not initially realise that the GLA were a comedic team until I later searched for info about them online.
I can't recall much about the issue beyond that Doorman had a role and US Agent appeared heavily. Because the dialog included the line "US Agent Chase them" I actually thought for a brief period before googling the character that he was named 'US Agent Chase' rather than just US Agent.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 135383
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| Posted: 16 December 2025 at 2:58pm | IP Logged | 10
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Apparently the reason Lee and Kirby came up with the Mutant concept is so they didn't have to continue conceiving elaborate backstories and explanations for how characters gain their powers. ••• Source?
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Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 13068
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| Posted: 16 December 2025 at 3:46pm | IP Logged | 11
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According to this, it was a quote from a book by Tom DeFalco:
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 16289
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| Posted: 16 December 2025 at 5:19pm | IP Logged | 12
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Don't know about the veracity of the DeFalco/Stan bit, but the Same Kieth "sinkt' bit made me laugh.
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