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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 11:17:58 GMT -5
You may have to love some aspect(s) of Silver Age storytelling to embrace this topic (or maybe not), but sometimes I think about characters/teams that were introduced at some point in comic book history, and what might have been if they were published in an earlier era. And not so much the idea of a "modern/retro" treatment today, literally a "what if?" back in time. I'll use an example. Harley Quinn obviously came along in the 90's first via the animated series and later crossing into the comic book world itself. But take for example this original concept sketch for the character:  I could totally have seen her in the late 50's/early 60's era Batman books. Would she have been as big a breakout star? I don't know about that, but I could see the Joker of that era having a lady partner of sorts analogous a bit for storytelling purposes as Batwoman was for Batman. So my basic question is just the following: purely for YOUR entertainment purposes, what Bronze Age or later introduced character/team/property would you be interested in a genuine Silver Age version of (in an alternate history where that happened).
What I was not intending: -A deconstruction of the business of the times -Likelihood that such a character could have been given the greenlight back then -Explanations why certain characters had to be a product of their times, etc. Certainly please DO qualify though if you want to add certain creators who would have been more suitable, more Marvel or DC style, or even creative ways you think they could have worked in that era. Also, NOT restricted to superheroes, feel free to pick from any genre. Not sure how much interest there will be for this, but for anyone who might be, would love to hear your thoughts!! |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 11:21:29 GMT -5
Punisher....he'd be more untouchable than Eliot Ness.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 11:26:51 GMT -5
Punisher....he'd be more untouchable than Eliot Ness. We're like a minute in and I already love this thread. Punisher would not have come to mind for me right away, but when you said Eliot Ness, it suddenly gave me this vision of how cool a retro Punisher might be. I know I said Silver Age, but maybe a pulpy Golden Age version too? |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 11:40:39 GMT -5
Definitely, you had real life gangsters like Al Capone who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit. There'd be a wealth of crime families for Frank to indulge in....
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Post by codystarbuck on May 5, 2023 11:44:25 GMT -5
Punisher....he'd be more untouchable than Eliot Ness. We're like a minute in and I already love this thread. Punisher would not have come to mind for me right away, but when you said Eliot Ness, it suddenly gave me this vision of how cool a retro Punisher might be. I know I said Silver Age, but maybe a pulpy Golden Age version too? We had them...they were the pulp heroes, like The Spider. Even in comics, you had guys like The Hangman, who did essentially that kind of stuff. The Golden Age publishers, especially ones like Lev Gleason, Fiction House and even bigger ones, like Timely and MLJ had plenty of grisly pulp stuff from their superheroes. |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 12:37:46 GMT -5
We're like a minute in and I already love this thread. Punisher would not have come to mind for me right away, but when you said Eliot Ness, it suddenly gave me this vision of how cool a retro Punisher might be. I know I said Silver Age, but maybe a pulpy Golden Age version too? We had them...they were the pulp heroes, like The Spider. Even in comics, you had guys like The Hangman, who did essentially that kind of stuff. The Golden Age publishers, especially ones like Lev Gleason, Fiction House and even bigger ones, like Timely and MLJ had plenty of grisly pulp stuff from their superheroes. Oh absolutely, that's a little the point of the thread. As you select a later property to "transport back in time" in this imaginary game, I think it would be a combined love of a certain era/style and the character/team itself that would make it interesting. |
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Post by MDG on May 5, 2023 13:55:10 GMT -5
I think it's just as easy to see "modern" characters as new versions of existing golden and silver age characters. For example, I can see Harley as not far from the version of the Huntress in the issues of B&B with Starman and Black Canary.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 14:04:02 GMT -5
I think it's just as easy to see "modern" characters as new versions of existing golden and silver age characters. For example, I can see Harley as not far from the version of the Huntress in the issues of B&B with Starman and Black Canary. I agree, that's a good comparison as well. But you still have to play the game (well, you don't "have" to of course). Who are you taking back to the Silver Age alt world? I know you'll have a good one  |
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Post by berkley on May 5, 2023 15:51:56 GMT -5
I think it's just as easy to see "modern" characters as new versions of existing golden and silver age characters. For example, I can see Harley as not far from the version of the Huntress in the issues of B&B with Starman and Black Canary. I agree, that's a good comparison as well. But you still have to play the game (well, you don't "have" to of course). Who are you taking back to the Silver Age alt world? I know you'll have a good one
How are you defining Silver and Bronze Age for the purposes of this thread?
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 16:23:13 GMT -5
I agree, that's a good comparison as well. But you still have to play the game (well, you don't "have" to of course). Who are you taking back to the Silver Age alt world? I know you'll have a good one
How are you defining Silver and Bronze Age for the purposes of this thread?
Let's draw a line at the start of 1970 (but I won't be a stickler if folks want to stretch it a little because it works for what they are thinking). After that point, fair game for when the character/team was first introduced (Bronze or any point beyond, 70's, 80's, 90's, and after). Before that point, Silver can be roughly late 50's to end of 60's, but no hard rule. Heck, if you want to go Golden throw that in as well. 50's are squishy enough as it is (and nobody start a thread drift analysis on comic book eras, I know how you very knowledgable historians around here think  ). |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 16:53:12 GMT -5
I love the regular Silver Age Teen Titans, and I love the Wolfman/Perez 80's version as well, but still, these images capture my imagination in the spirit of this question.   |
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Post by berkley on May 5, 2023 19:05:14 GMT -5
I wonder if this makes more sense for DC than for marvel characters?
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2023 19:29:09 GMT -5
I wonder if this makes more sense for DC than for marvel characters? Maybe, but again I like where Rags took it with the Punisher. And there’s this weird part of me that really wants to imagine a mid-60’s Deadpool. |
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Post by commond on May 5, 2023 19:56:56 GMT -5
Did you ever read that issue of Deadpool where he travels back in time to the pages of an Amazing Spider-Man comic?
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Post by berkley on May 5, 2023 20:07:54 GMT -5
I suppose not having read much Marvel or DC after the early 1980s the concept is a little lost on me. The Punisher started before then but I didn't see many of his stories in the 1970s.
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).