Off My Mind: Do You Want Superheroes to Age?

Should they be forever young?

By Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero | July 1, 2010

Time in comic books doesn't work the same way it does in real life. Characters rarely show any signs of aging and usually remain the same age throughout all their stories. Would we want to seem them age? Some characters have aged a bit since their first appearance. Does this keep the character from getting stale or are we running the risk of having our characters get too old for future generations?

We have seen alternate tales where heroes get old. Usually things don't go very well. Characters either die or the world has gone to hell. Does that say something right there? Is the future and aging a bad sign for superheroes?

I've mentioned before how I started reading/collecting comics in 1984. Back then, Spider-Man was in his mid-20s (he still is, I guess). Now if he had aged normally from then, he'd be close to 50. Obviously that would limit future stories with Spidey. On the other hand, it's not like he's frozen in time. When he first appeared in 1962, he was still in high school. We have seen him graduate and even go through college. Perhaps Spider-Man aged too much. We saw him get married and even have a kid (well, he didn't have it, Mary Jane did). Apparently this made it hard for readers to relate to him? Weird since I'm married and have a kid.

We have seen other characters show signs of aging. Dick Grayson started out as a kid and now he's in his mid-20s. There is no fixed rate at how time passes in comics. There's no formula saying one issue equals one day for characters. I believe in Green Arrow #1 it was mentioned that something like six months had passed since Star City was destroyed and brought back when it hasn't even been six months in 'our' time.

If characters start showing signs of aging, that limits their longevity. Batman has been around for over 70 years. While it's good for character development to see him and others age, don't we want to be able to enjoy them for as long as we can? Don't we want our children to be able to enjoy them as well? We've seen an "older" Bruce in The Dark Knight Returns as well as Batman Beyond but it's not the same. Where should the line be drawn? How much should writers and publishers allow characters to age? You can't just age some characters, you have to age the entire comic universe. Should growing older be one battle that superheroes can win?

123 Comments

darkxman123on July 1, 2010 at 7:01 a.m.

i think they should age if there children so they can be used in storys in the future but people like batman and the like should not age as then genorations to come cant enjoy them

Chaneon July 1, 2010 at 7:01 a.m.

Good god yes. I was perfectly happy with the "legacy" heroes in the DCU (Connor Hawke, Wally West, Kyle Raynor etc..) until the silver age ones came back and deaged. I mean look at Iris Allen now compared to a few years ago? It's ridiculous at times.

ComicMan24on July 1, 2010 at 7:03 a.m.

Aging in comics is weird. For example almost all of Batman's sidekicks have grown while Batman has stayed virtually the same. Aging only applies to sidekicks and that stops when they become adults. Another example is Franklin Richards, he was born in the sixties and he is still 10 years old I think. Heroes should age, that's why we have legacies.

Coxon9on July 1, 2010 at 7:06 a.m.

i dont see whats wrong with aging heroes. i really liked dc the new frontier because it kept all the dates and time intact based on the characters first appearances and at no point in that story did i feel that characters were dated or not relevant because of the 1950's backdrop. so even if they did "age" heroes they could always return to a certain time period in that heroes career and tell untold stories. but then again by not aging them, they become for relevant to the times i suppose

Gylan Thomason July 1, 2010 at 7:06 a.m.

Bart Simpson's been around ten years old for over twenty years.
Superheroes should age at a very, very slow rate.

I like t read future stories once in a whiel but imagien if Spidey ages at the same rate as us.He'd be in his 80's.

doordoor123 is online on July 1, 2010 at 7:09 a.m.

Time in comics passes by at a slow rate. If one issue comes out a month, and there is 6 issues in a current story arc, thats six months our time, but maybe 3 days in comic books. SO it makes sense how slow characters age. When I see characters in multiple titles, i dont think how are they in two places at once, i think that it has and will eventually happen. I forgot where i was going with this.
ANYHOW I would like characters to keep aging. Even if our kids have to live without the key players we lived with. I hope publishing companies can keep trying to create unique individual characters. What they need to do is start pushing the smaller characters for more face time. Marvel has the right idea. Luke Cage and Deadpool are two growing faces in the industry. They are both getting pushed higher and higher. They need to eventually be on the same level as characters like Spider-man or Captain America.
What really needs to happen is development of new interesting characters. Batwoman is a great example. These days characters have the same powers over and over again and the same personalities. Companies need unique characters that can shape theyre universe.

hydro 300on July 1, 2010 at 7:12 a.m.

Aging in comics is a tricky thing ,when a writer decides to age a hero,he must be careful so he doesn t hurt the integrity of the character

Gylan Thomason July 1, 2010 at 7:12 a.m.

@ComicMan24:

See I've never really been a fan of the "lecagy" idea.
It's biggest with DC and of course felt natural when the characterswere reinvented for the silver age but I feel it's been over done. More often than not it really just means a tmepory replacement of a character and detracts from the originality of the first to go by <insert name here>.

For instance, I have a real problem with the fact that there's aSupergirl. Supe's should be the last Kryptonian.
Now Supergirls even seemsto have her own Bizzaro.

Decept-Oon July 1, 2010 at 7:16 a.m.

Hate to say, but yeah, it would make more sense if the comic characters would age a bit.

Here's the deal: Let's say you read one comic book title that gets published monthly. Well, in each issue, the story can take place in that title's universe in the timespan of say one week, one month----or one minute. It's subjective to the writer.

This is why comic characters' ages don't exactly jive with "our" timeline. What has passed as 40 years in reality may only be 10 years or less in many comic book titles.

You bring up a good point concerning Spider-Man. I WANT Peter to be a single fun loving swinging character yet in many ways, many writers have tried to mature and age Pete. I should accept that Pete should be married and even have a kid. It's a hard concept for me to grasp concerning Spider-Man.

It does open the door to other stories being told and even introducing more characters and trials in Peter Parker's life.

I really prefer Bruce Wayne as Batman yet he can't keep up his gig forever. His body will begin to age and all the combat injuries he's experienced will catch up with him. While I HATE the idea of sidekicks, concerning Batman at least, this might be one reason why he does have them, because one day, he won't be Bats any longer.

speedlgton July 1, 2010 at 7:22 a.m.

i think there must be a line drawn in ages of heroes based on physical looks, ability, some realism,

lets look at what should be the max age of superheros....first they have to be in 100% peak human condition (unless there super humans than this doesnt apply) 2nd they have to be perfectly built and women must be HOT. now if take that in to account I would MAX age based on realism for superheroes is most like 40 years old. NOW i know your thinking there are people past 40 years of age who are in great shape both ability and looks but in SOME form of realism once your past 40 years old most people are not on par with the 20 somethings! its just nature we age it sucks but thats life.

also consider the level of respect status if life heroes have.......for example in smallville does green arrow look like a CEO man of respect and wealth that has worked to build empires? hell no he looks like some kid that surfs hes far too young to be believe him to have that status in life. Now if he were 40 thats more realistic.

so Batman wonderwoman GL green arrow barry and such are all 40 in my opinion. Superman is 35 and is forever 35 no more no less.

if they makes heroes older than this is just takes away from what little realism there is in comics

Timmon July 1, 2010 at 7:23 a.m.

comic book characters and their offspring would be more epic in general if they would age and yes, die.

ComicMan24on July 1, 2010 at 7:25 a.m.

@Gylan Thomas:
I don't have a problem with legacies but I do agree with you on the fact that most of the time they are just used as temporary replacements until the originals return.

Icemizeron July 1, 2010 at 7:29 a.m.

If characters have to age then it must be a company wide mandate that all characters age in that universe at the same rate. This would avoid the Franklin Richards problem. He is still a pre-teen, but his friends in Power Pack are already well into their teen years.
I am not sure how badly this mismatched time really bothers the die hard comic reader. Don't we basically accept that time it all wibbly wobbly inside the respective universes?

MadClawMannnon July 1, 2010 at 7:30 a.m.

Characters in general are always changing and evolving. I don't have a problem with characters aging. Old Man Logan was a great example of a character aging. Yeah, the out come of an aging character is either, Characters either die or the world has gone to hell. But, at the same time characters in comic can always be retcon and the aging stuff doesn't matter. A character aging and getting older can be a great story line, but ultimately comic books readers want their Superheroes in their prime.

CaptainUselesson July 1, 2010 at 7:31 a.m.

I think they should age, but make they should make so that after 3 years or so the characters are a year older or something like that.

scorpius72on July 1, 2010 at 7:34 a.m.

think characters should age if it helps the development of the character into maturity and a new lease on life. like the teen titans growing up and becoming adult heroes in their own right, or kitty pryde maturing into a capable young woman. barbara going from batgirl to Oracle. thats useful.

others just getting old like hal jordan in the 90s with his reed richards hairstyle didnt do anything for the character and he ended up dead soon after. billy batson isnt capt marvel anymore. why? how has that made the character better, other then giving the writers something new to work with.

unfortuentely most heroes especially in DC universe dont enjoy the luxury of growing old before they are killed off and replaced with a younger,less interesting model. some for politically correct reasons.(aquaman,firestorm, martian manhunter, green lantern,green arrow,atom) . that is a slap in the face to the fans

Chaos Burnon July 1, 2010 at 7:37 a.m.

i dont understand superhero aging... i mean Peter Parker is married and he teached at his old school.. yet IronMan and co barely age

Adm_Spideyon July 1, 2010 at 7:39 a.m.

I agree with a couple of the above posts aging should exist but at a reduced rate. Special powers such as Wolverine's healing powers should also counter this.

dirtymikon July 1, 2010 at 7:39 a.m.

Personally I like the idea of characters aging and the idea of legacy characters. One reason is that it gives the feeling of permanence and honesty to the story. Spider-Man growing up and getting married? Given the progression of the character from inception 'till the last decade, it makes sense. Aging characters gives the feeling that these stories count for something. Which is one of the things I hate about retconning. Stories don't really count for anything after a while.

There needs to be a balance between the timelessness of a character and the character having a natural progression in aging. Not allowing a character to age does not stay true to the character.

SUPER-MAN 23on July 1, 2010 at 7:39 a.m.

I think the reason for characters don't age is because they can be used for future generations. However, I remember the other "Off My Mind" were you talked about, Will Superman and Batman still be cool at 100? Maybe. However, in the later years for future generations there will be recreations of "Return Of Bruce Wayne", The birth of Batman, Brightest day and Blackest Night, Spiderman O.M.I.T and others. Just like stories of the birth of batman was retold for this generation. However, I do remember Batman #700. Were the end of the comic talked about a entirely different Batman. Maybe it is good to have different characters as iconic characters. But, like you said it would change the whole entire comic universe. So the answer would be a maybe.

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