Subdividing the Superheroes

There’s a tendency now to subdivide the most popular superheroes like valuable beachfront property — multiple Supermen, several Spider-Men, various Iron Men, Batman Inc., a half-dozen Avengers teams, male and female Thors, One Hulk, Two Hulk, Red Hulk, Blue Hulk.

It’s predictable that rent-seeking corporations would think of franchises. And it’s also a reflection of the corporate capitalist tendency to choke the consumer with product and the illusion of choice, like the half-mile-long cereal aisle in the supermarket, rather than relying on superior storytelling from people like Mark Waid to carry the day.

This trend will inevitably prove to be as tedious as the previous corporate comics scheme of killing off major characters and then bringing them back to life.