Canon in Comic Books - Does it really matter?

Back in the day, canon meant something to comic fans. One can say that breaking down an entire universe and giving a fresh start sounds pretty appealing and can grab new fans. But to have it done every year or so can be exhausting, old and boring. So now Thor’s mother is the Phoenix? Wonder Woman’s father is Zeus and don’t get me started on all the Spider-Man comic reboots that took place because Peter Parker got old. Canon solidified the characters timeline. But with the universe breaking up every damn year or so it like none of this crap really matters. Don’t believe me? Take a look at any anime comics. When the story ends, the series is over the characters exploits are canon because nothing was destroyed, or the universe did not become undone for some strange reason. The character lived a life and it’s not only recorded, but it also becomes almost legend to a fan. Now I can understand the importance of keeping characters relevant, comic stories tend to go on for years making the character older, slower and less appealing. But I rather I see this as a way for the character to develop even more. Staying true to Canon means allowing the character to actually live out his life from start to finish. Americans used to do this with fairytale storytelling but that went to crap when remakes got involved. Now, mostly nothing is canon anymore. We have different variants of Canon to explain one writer's vision. Different universes where the character may have done something on one universe but not the other. Its people are afraid to let go of the character itself. Why not allow some surviving characters to adapt the traits of the fallen main character? Why not give the mantle the next deserving character? Stories like Ghost in a Shell and Cowboy Bebop can continue with new characters or develop ones. Section 9 in Ghost in a Shell could still continue if the writer wanted it to happen. What you would have here are fresh characters for new challenges in the same story timeline. The Original character could have a mention in the new series was well. That would be bad ass. That’s all I got people: you may continue with your day.

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