Why Comic Fans Shouldn’t Hate Reboots

Next month The Amazing Spider-Man comes out in theatres. Spider-Man 3 came out in 2007. Some might say that five years is too soon (not soon enough based on the quality of the third film) for a reboot of the franchise. I say that those people are not real comic book fans. Anyone who reads comics should not only be okay with a reboot, it should seem commonplace for them.

When JLA #1 launched in the winter of 1997, it was essentially a reboot. For years the Justice League had dissolved into a collection of second string and B-list characters. Grant Morrison’s run brought the big characters of the DC Universe (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc) back into the fold. Not only did the JLA become the best selling title at DC but it set the record that the Justice League would be a collection of the best heroes DC has to offer. And then after two years on the title, Grant Morrison left and a new writer came on.

Reboots happen all the time in comics. A new creative team jumps on a title and immediately begins to change characters, costumes, and all other aspects of the title. The reason why comic reboots are mostly ignored while big screen reboots set film and comic fans insane with rage is because comic reboots are cheap and easy. With few exceptions the world does not notice when a prominent character is killed off or a costume is changed in a comic. And in reality, most comic fans don’t really notice it. We might complain initially that our favorite ancillary character is no longer around but we usually either get so engrossed in the new story or simply drop the title.

Another reason why we should not be upset with reboots is that if you look at most films, the track record of reboots has been pretty good. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight completely (for the most part) washed away the bad taste of Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. The Incredible Hulk remake and Hulk in The Avengers has me almost completely forgetting Ang Lee’s neon green Hulk (the gamma poodles still haunt my dreams).

Even non-comic reboots and remakes have been pretty good. Dawn of the Dead in 2004 was a worth successor to the 1978 version.  Friday the 13^th in 2009 was just as good as the original. The disdain for remakes and reboots has not been earned by the track record of these films.