The Sunk Cost Fallacy Of Keeping A Floating Timeline SINCE THE GOLDEN/SILVER AGE

It's been sometime since I decided to write something "meaty". Well, not exactly but I revisited my old post discussing the problem of the comic book timeline. I remember blindly following comics and I realized one thing -- having a floating timeline SINCE THE SILVER AGE is a real sunk cost. It's because it fails to account for the following things:

• Eras change a lot. The Golden Age (1938 – 1956), the Silver Age (1956 – 1970), the Bronze Age (1970 – 1985), and the Modern Age (1970 – 1985, social realism is rising) DEMAND different storytelling methods. That means the era that demanded for one-dimensional hate sinks. Another era will demand for complicated villains. Many times, backstories just don't match!
• People are destined to DIE SOMEDAY. A child in 1938 would probably be DEAD by now. I've seen some boomers die too soon before they're even 60. It made me go "HUH?" when I realized a family friend of ours died of cancer only in her 60s. 
• There's much change of fashion, technology, challenges, etc. in every era. There's a constant change that needs to happen. Sure, there are CERTAIN constants like science and morality. However, the methods to spread information changes such as the analog methods to the digital methods. No one can fight disinformation today USING smoke signals!

The more I read comics, the more I thought of how using the floating timeline since the GOLDEN AGE or the SILVER AGE -- the more I realize how IGNORANT I was of that era's writing style. Maybe, I need to give an example...

We need to talk about how characterization can be so inconsistent because of the decades-long narrative

Magneto is just one example out of many. Magneto was originally introduced as a For the Evulz mutant supremacist villain. However, during the Bronze Age, he's practically turned into a tragic hero. But wait? Magneto's personality as a Holocaust survivor vs. his 1960s personality are CLASHING! Bronze Age Magneto just wanted mutants to survive and never considered himself evil. Silver Age Magneto was like almost every other villain -- doing STUPID EVIL PLANS to carry out their objective. Heck, Silver Age Magneto danced in-between Social Darwinist and Anti-Villain more often than not. Magneto as a Social Darwinist would always mistreat Toad. 

If one tries to compare Magneto in the past vs. the present -- you might see Magneto in the present has a much different character. The Bronze Age Magneto was always willing to give peace a chance. It made me think that if the Silver Age was shut down and the Bronze Age was ANOTHER CONTINUITY -- later revelations can be changed to fit the era. One can rewrite the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Silver) in exchange for the Brotherhood of Mutant Activists (Bronze) where Bronze Magneto is actually shown to be an anti-villain. Magneto would probably be the one guiding Rogue (and keep the groomer vibes away) to use her power, or that Mystique found herself in common interest with Magneto. Both Magneto and Mystique could've worked together WITHOUT thinking of the Silver era. 

In turn, Magneto becomes one of the biggest victims of the REVOLVING DOOR ERA. Just imagine how often he goes from the straight-out villain the 1960s to the anti-villain to the anti-hero, then anti-villain, pure evil, blah blah blah. The real reason is because of decades long carrying over. In fact, I was even thinking about how the 2000s Magneto (the one that killed Jean Grey via magnetic stroke and the one whom Wolverine beheaded) was an imposter? We had a Magneto Robot? Well, you know what happens when you try to connect everything since the Golden/Silver era up to several decades and even today. 

Not to mention, Magneto's parentage in 2014-2015 in the AXIS arc was RETCONNED. It was already established for centuries. It's one thing to do it if, "What if in our next reboot, Magneto is no longer a holocaust survivor and he's not the father of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch." Instead, the comic history chose to get rid of 30+ years of established fan investment probably because "things are getting boring if Magneto is a father who found his lost kids." WHATEVER!

Couplings can become a cycle of on/offs and not to mention, broken up in the MOST SCANDALOUS WAY POSSIBLE

A love story that goes on for so long can be disastrous. That's why I don't watch Filipino teleseryes due ot the RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS of time that they take to wrap up a story. However, we need to take account for hte comics. I rememer in the 2000s when we we had the Cyclops-Jean Grey-Emma Frost LOVE TRIANGLE. It was already bad enough (actually) when the original Cyclops vs. Angel for Jean Grey was later replaced with the Cyclops vs. Wolverine for Jean Grey. It gives that waltz where Jean Grey can go from Cyclops' loving partner to cheating on him with Wolverine in the next second. Cyclops can go from Jean Grey's loving partner to cheating on him the NEXT SECOND. Jean Grey was later killed off for some time when Xorn (a Magneto imposter) caused her to feel the magnetic energy of the whole Earth. It was BAD WRITING at its finest. 

Now, I thought about how the bad couple dissolutions in writing are and the possible "rationale" behind them:

1. Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor is one bad case. Cyclops supposedly accepted Madelyne for who she is -- not as a substitute for Jean. I guess nobody had a idea on what to do with Jean. Keep her dead or resurrect her? I felt the whole retcon of Madelyne Pryor as a Jean Grey clone created by Mr. Sinister was LAZY WRITING. Cyclops was supposed to develop into a mature man with a family. Cyclops walking out of a marriage because his ex-girlfriend was alive, is VERY OOC for him.
2. Candy Southern was supposedly Angel's greatest love. I guess Angel finally overcoming Jean, becoming the new bridge of the Mutants and Humans relations, was geting "boring" for him. That's probably why they killed off Candy Southern. The whole relationship with Psylocke feels off due to "consolation prize factors" and two, Candy was the only woman who I believe Angel genuinely felt was no substitute for his first love Jean. Remember they were supposedly together in 1969 but just killed off in 1988. 
3. I have mixed feelings for the Vision and the Scarlet Witch. It was in their mini-series that the very OOC affair of Crystal AND Norman Webster happened. Vision wasn't just a cheap copy of Simon Williams aka Wonder Man. Vision developed feelings for the Scarlet Witch on HIS OWN. The two even had magically produced children. However, because the Scarlet Witch AS A MOTHER can complicate things -- the next thing was to turn her sons Thomas and William into DEMONS. Come on, it made Dr. Strange into a complete idiot. Dr. Strange was the one who helped deliver them. Wonder Man would've probably felt some strange energy too.
4. Quicksilver and Crystal actually had ample time to develop. I always hated how the Human Torch was a womanizer. It was one thing when the Human Torch was attracted to Medusalith and later, he fell for Crystal, the prettier younger sister. So yeah, I thought Quicksilver and Crystal were actually more ideal and the Human Torch deserved to lose her. However, the writer Steve Englehart probably thought, "Them becoming a family was boring." The next thing was to give Crystal a VERY OOC MOMENT where she committed adultery with Norman Webster, the SAME real estate agent where the Vision and the Scarlet Witch bought it from. Like WUT?
5. If it's not enough, later Cyclops' marriage with Jean Grey (the fan preference) wasn't just linked to the whole Madelyne Pryor messy retcon or Jean Grey is brought back by a whim. What I also felt was so stupid was that later on, the whole Cyclops and Emma Frost shipping just happens JUST LIKE THAT. It's very OOC for Cyclops (AGAIN) for him to be cheating or for Emma Frost to even seduce him.

The list can go on and on. Which also makes me think of another messy result...

Narrative shortcuts happen mroe often than not like this...

I always felt Cable's history as Cyclops' son is messy. First, it was an "interesting idea" until I realized this. Cable's history has been TOO MESSY. I felt that if Jean Grey was meant to die and Cyclops to marry Madelyne then the retcons are so messy. Cyclops became a father and the best solution? We already saw Scarlet Witch's children with the Vision retconned as parts of Mephisto's soul. Cyclops was later forced to send his own son Nathan Christopher Summers to the future. The craziest part aws that he later came back as CABLE. After all, it made me think of how superheroes becoming parents ARE STATUS QUO KILLERS.

For example, the Dragon Ball franchise had a choice to either let Goku grow up or not. The next logical choice was to let Goku grow up and be a father to Gohan. Sure, the Buu Saga was just terrible due to overwork. However, we need to think that Cyclops could've been a cool superhero dad to Nathan Christopher. Getting rid of Cable's mother Madelyne wasn't just the original crime. The next crime was that Cyclops had to lose his son in time. People might say it's "more interesting" if Cyclops lost his son and later came back, as old as his father. However, I view it more as a NARRATIVE SHORTCUT. For example, we need to take a look at this dynamic  by comparing Cable to Future Trunks or Cyclops to Vegeta or Goku:

• Dragon Ball Z managed to skip the infant years and introduce Gohan in his stages as a toddler, an elemenetary school student, teenager, and an adult. In Vegeta's case, he actually got to be Trunks' father (infant) while actually meeting Future Trunks. Cable's story could've remained in the direction of the "son from the future" archetype WITHOUTmaking him a narrative skip.
• Instead, by having Cyclops lose Cable as an infant and then find out that, "He's my son I lost in time?" can be jarring. We need think because ther'es nothing "fun" if Cyclops was actually changing Nathan's diapers, seeing him grow, etc. At the same time, it's pure emotional torture for Cyclops not just to get character assasinated but also deprived of the chance to be a normal father. Cyclops' bigger enemies aren't bigots in his world but the writers!

I always felt that Cable should've been from a future Cyclops wants to prevent. Instead, I feel by turning Cable into Cyclops' time-lost son -- it was just another narrative shortcut. I'm actually laughing and cringing too much over what I call as a VERY LAZY PLOT DEVICE. 

How I felt the TV adaptations might be better... EVENTUALLY!

It can be easy to argue that, "That's not what happened in the comics!" I remember pointing out certain events like how Angel becoming Archangel in the comics was different. I talked about how Angel lost his wings and Apocalypse offered him a pair of NEW WINGS, in exchange for servitude. However, I thought about how the Marvel or DC adaptations into the screen actually separated themselves from the messy storyline. Perhaps, we can have these examples:

• Every Batman adaptation its into the new era. For example, Batman: The Animated Series doesn't follow the canon of Batman (1966). Batman: The Animated Series doesn't use the comically crazy crazy Joker of the late Cesar Romero -- opting for a more sadistic Joker while fitting wth TV-Y7-FV. Gone are the Bond Villain death traps because they may no longer click with the newer viewers. So yeah, no need to watch 1966 to understand the 1990s cartoon.
• The Spider-Man animated adaptations knew what era to put the titular character in and WHERE TO PUT HIM. For example, Spider-Man: The Animated Series was brilliantly set in the 1990s.
• X-Men: The Animated Series IGNORES the whole canon from the Silver Age and chooses to be a very 1990s vibe. Everyone is founded with an "Avengers-style" commander where Cyclops gives orders to everyone like Captain America does. Wolverine is much older but he receives orders like Thor does from Captain America. I felt the hanging finale was expected because American superhero shows are usually meant to be Status Quo. 
• X-Men: Evolution chose to be a 2000s series (and explained Magneto used technology to make himself younger to a certain extent many times) that didn't rely on the Silver Age. Instead, it chose to turn Wolverine, Storm, and Beast into mentor figures while the main cast like Cyclops and Jean Grey, are teenagers finding their way into the world. Yes, there are also come inconsistencies too.
• Super Friends and Justice League are meant to be separate continuities. You can enjoy them as two different versions of DC heroes. For example, the Super Friends version of Lex Luthor was pretty much lik Dr. Blofeld. The Justice League version of Luthor is meant to be the more intellectua type. 

Since the TV adaptations don't connect to the comics -- EVERY NEW VERSION is essentially its own continuity. The comics timeline just becomes a bigger tug of war among writers than self-contained animated adaptations ever will be.