Do DC superheroes age?

[Duncan]

Yeah - can't get much more off topic than this but I picked up and enjoyed some Batman and Superman Graphic novels recently and had a read. I always thought they remained 'static' in their ages but I couldn't help but notice a reference in one of the Superman ones to him as being in his early thirties and then a reference to him being over forty. Jimmy seems to be much older, the original Robin is now in his twenties etc.

Bear in mind I last read US comic books back in the early eighties. Do they age now? Is there some official answer to this? Will we see a silver haired Superman?

Just thought some kind regular DC reader could help clear this up (and if they could also point me to some kind of timeline of Batman/Superman's lives that would be great too - I'm getting a little bewildered by seeing an old bald Lex Luthor, a young bald Lex Luthor and a ginger haired one - and he's president???... and there are three Robins? The continuity knots are getting in the way of some cracking good stories...!

[shockidelica]

From what I remember, there was some big shake-up with DC books in the late 80s which they killed off a number of characters and which provided the catalyst to restart/redo many chracter's origins. Most of what's out there today is part of the fallout of this shake-up. Otherwise Supes would be at least in his late 60s-early 70s by now. :wink:

[GoldKey]

I don't know if the cartoon versions are considered part of the comic world, but the entire premise of Batman Beyond is that Bruce Wayne is old and is training Terry as his replacement.

[Jacob]

Didn't they come out with a comic book where Superman died a few years ago?

I guess he was resurrected?

[Video11]

Hoo boy! Now we are combining two of my favourite things: PPCs and Batman.

I believe that the official word is that DC heroes do not age. Batman uses a 12 year timeline, meaning it has been 12 years since he first appeared in Gotham City. To confuse things even more the main Batman Books (Batman, Detective Comics and Gotham Knights) are considered to be 'in continuity' which means events in these books are 'official' and can have lasting affects on the main characters, while other special stories and 'Elseworlds' graphic novels are considered 'out of continuity' and as such have NO lasting affects on the main characters.

It really can get quite confusing! My best suggestion to you is to read comics to enjoy them and not get too hung up on how the timeline works or is supposed to work. Comics are made to enjoy!

[Video11]

Didn't they come out with a comic book where Superman died a few years ago?

I guess he was resurrected?

Um, yeah. He got better. :roll:

[GoldKey]

So, kind of like Star Trek, all the books, etc are not considered "gospel" so they don't have to have continuity with the series. The TV episodes and movies are considered official for ST, while only the comic lines are official for DC.

Of course there is that Star Trek/X-men crossover comic.

[qmrq]

Yes, they do age... there is an issue of Batman I have somewhere where he talks about getting old, wondering how much longer he can keep fighting the good fight and such. Pretty deep stuff.. for a comic book at least.

[Jeff Rutledge]

Of course there is that Star Trek/X-men crossover comic.

I vaguely remember hearing a rumour about that a while back. Did it happen then?

[Duncan]

One thing that's always appealed about Judge Dredd (British comic strip character, confusingly set in a future US) is that he ages in real time. When his stories started in 1977 it was 2099 in his home city and he had been 'born' (as a clone artificially aged to 5) in 2066 - making him 33 (38). Now it is 2125 and he is 59 (but physically aged 64). This allows for real character development and the fact of his aging, and that one day he will die/'retire', is covered within storylines.

I kind of hoped that this approach was being taken by DC now.

Oddly I did find a site that purported to have a timeline for Superman - claimed that it has been established that he was 'born' in 1958, became Superman in 1986 and is now established to be in his 40s. Something about this being a 'post-Crisis' timeline (some event that rewrote history and only some people remember happened?!) with some other event having altered things again...

What I can't get over is how much has changed! So Lex is his own clone and now president (better or worse than Bush - discuss! BTW - was he Dem or Rep?) Dick Grayson isn't Robin now but there is a new one? There have been three Batmans??!! Gordon is retired, Batgirl isn't Barbara Gordon? Superman's logo is black? ...and don't get me started on Superboy, Supergirl, Flash and Green Lantern - all of whom are completely new people from in my old collection of late 70s/early 80s comics... oh - and Melbourne got nuked?!!

Boy this is confusing! Is there a book that will explain what happened to all these people?

Bad enough that I've been getting into X-Men: Evolution only to be told by a mate that they represent one of three different versions of X-Men community all running at the same time?

Am I going to regret asking these questions? 8O

[GoldKey]

Of course there is that Star Trek/X-men crossover comic.

I vaguely remember hearing a rumour about that a while back. Did it happen then?

Yep, from my personal collection. I think there was also a paperback based on the concept, I will have to check my library.

http://www.nettally.com/gohlke/temp/stx.jpg

[Jeff Rutledge]

Cool. I don't buy comics, but do enjoy them whenever I read them. A friend of mine used to buy every X-Men comic and I borrowed at least two year's worth and really enjoyed them (I made it to the end of the Onslaught arc).

I'm also a Star Trek fan so I'd definitely enjoy these. I'm heading to Toronto on Sunday so I might have to check out the local comic book stores downtown to see if they have them kickin' around.

0X

[GoldKey]

The X-men crossover was a special issue so there is not a whole series of them. I collected the trek comics for a while and have almost put together a full set of the Anne Rice vampire comics.

[Jeff Rutledge]

The X-men crossover was a special issue so there is not a whole series of them. I collected the trek comics for a while and have almost put together a full set of the Anne Rice vampire comics.

So it's just one comic? That's surprising. I thought it would have been a series. Well, I'll have a look anyways. There's a place on Queen Street that has a lot of back issues and collectibles. Even if not, it's always fun to visit that place. :D