For some reason, DC Comics has an abundance of iconic characters they have no idea what to do with. So they subject them to reboot after retcon after reboot, never giving them a chance to build a full-fledged character and mythology before they’re off in another direction again. Hawkman is probably the best (worst?) example, but even the likes of Wonder Woman have found themselves subjected to major reboots.

In 1986, in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths (which would set DC on a course of obsessive preoccupation with continuity for more than twenty years, a process that’s still ongoing), Aquaman got a well-received four-issue limited series written by Neal Pozner and illustrated by Craig Hamilton. Hamilton’s distinctive redesign of Aquaman’s outfit, featuring a much more logical (if less iconic) color scheme of blacks, blues and whites, only lasts as long as the series’ brief run. However, it has remained a fan-favorite since, and now Mattel has given this version of Aquaman (which they’re calling “Ocean Warrior” Aquaman) his first-ever action figure. (more…)

Marvel Comics fans have often made fun of DC Comics’s abundance of sidekicks and “kid” versions of characters. There’s a simple reason for the differing traditions, though. In the early days of superhero comics in the 1940s, child sidekicks were believed to be both a way to help kids identify with the situations and the comics as well as give them a role model (Robin’s early appearances in Batman comics featured numerous lectures about moral behavior).

It was also a simpler time, when the audience of superhero comics was entirely adolescent children. Sidekicks made sense from a business standpoint, and the simple nature of the stories–busting gangsters and petty thugs, rather than world-devouring demigods–made having a sidekick less like reckless child endangerment and more like plain old adventure. (more…)