re: #72 scottslemmons

DC and Warner’s aren’t very fond of superheroes, and they definitely don’t understand the concept. Yeah, it’s their business, but their comics and movies come across as kinda schizophrenic — they think superheroes are Dumb Funny Books for Babies, and they don’t want to write for Dumb Babies, so they try to push a lot of EXTREME storylines to show that they’re Real Adults Who Write For Real Adults — and they come across as immature and fumbling, because chasing the EXTREME is something you do when you’re 13.

At the same time, they *are* incredibly timid. They’re terrified of stepping out of their comfort zones — and most of their execs and preferred creators matured in the testosterone haze of 1990s Image Comics, which is why most of their characters have a Liefeldian air about them.

But Marvel has had a lot of success with updating their comics for new audiences — the female Thor and Muslim Ms. Marvel have been huge sales successes — and DC is struggling to tear themselves out of their rut.

The female Thor will be gone soon. Marvel is going down the black hole of a reality reboot in the next year or so. My bet is that the storyline pruning will result in there being one THOR, and it will be a male.