goes sort of hand in hand really with characterization
i think Bat-Family is a victim of similar circumstances as Spidey currently is, as a massive fan of him. not that it results in the exact same things tho
it's just somewhere along the line, the actual details of the characterization and character dynamics that made these fictional worlds feel very worth revisiting every month, and could even make your own imagination tingle stopped mattering--
and instead it seems like all that matters is superficial resemblance to what once was
Peter Parker is known as a nerd with bad luck and a sense of humor. so as long as they have that, they for some reason write and act as if they don't care for all the little things that made his comics what they were for so many decades
and when the little things don't matter anymore, then you stop really seeing what you came there for, and things turn so vague and only loosely identifiable, it loses the heart that makes it something easy to attach yourself to
With Tim Drake, it seems like all they care about is that he's Batman's emotional support Robin. they knew he said Batman Needs a Robin, and while like the example with Peter, it is right, simplifying them down that much like the rest doesn't matter too just makes him a flimsy character
As long as Dick is sexually attractive and suits the female gaze they really tend not to give a shit about anything else
As long as Damian is an asshole, they don't care about the context of when he's an asshole, no, that'd give him depth. People just want to share funny panels. As long as he has the one trait people identify him with, they'll share it, and people will act like it's great. They can say it's in character because the characters have the one trait, therefore they'd do it
Same thing with Jason, as long as he's a bad boy who cares
and as long as Babs is smart, they may even give themselves a pat on the back, because that's all Oracle generically was to people, right?
I'm not even sure they care enough about Steph and Cass to give them character traits. I guess as long as Steph seems extroverted, and Cass is quiet, they really don't seem to give much of a dang.
Am I saying I think writers and editors intentionally do this? Probably not. I imagine they think they are doing a good job, and are trying in their own way to do a good job. It wouldn't be sensical to do a bad job on purpose in any profession--It's still unfortunately how it winds up feeling
and because of that lack of care, intentional or not, it starts to show in the character relationships too. Are Dick and Tim super close bro-bros or is Tim someone Dick only kind of knew? Depends on the writer. Is Jason getting along with the Bat-Family? Depends on the writer. Does Batman hit his kids? Depends on the writer.
And if so much stuff starts to depend on the writer, then following the characters over time begins to really make it feel like nothing matters, and if nothing matters who cares?
And with comics more niche than ever, and society growing defensive as a whole. You can now have characters do or say or act differently with another character out of no where, and despite it doing none of the writing work to make it clear it's actually the case or doing anything to make it work, someone will write it off as a character arc to defend it. which can often have the backdoor effect of fucking a whole character up until people forget about it hopefully
i feel the people in their positions are passionate, and so is the fandom
but passion doesn't always line up with talent
and appreciating something doesn't always mean you understand how it actually works either
that's basically what i've got out of this following the Bat-Family comics for a long stretch of time deal.
