"There Always Has To Be An [X]..." Superheroes and Their Legacies

I was glancing at The Mighty Thor #706 where Jane Foster relinquishes the role of "Thor" back to "Odinson" and it just... my problems with Jane's time as Thor aside it dawned on me that there was another problem. I started thinking about other superheroes with arcs that came around to making the same point of "there must always be a version of [insert titular character here]."

• How many times have we seen "why the world needs Superman" or some variation of that? As if there wasn't a cast of similar superhuman bricks with good morals around.
• There must always be a Batman. The DCAU ran with this idea when Bruce gets to the point where even Amanda Waller thinks he's slowing down, so she actually tries to "recreate" him through Terry Mc-Ginnis.
• There must always be a Spider Man. Spider-Man's cosmic importance seems emphasized in Spider-Verse. There is literally a Spider-God that connects all of his alternate selves.

It just bugs me. The importance these identities seem to have feels almost superficial. I can understand claiming a name or position like a Green Lantern or an Avenger.

But the idea that these iconic characters have such a big place in their setting that "somebody" has to fill in their shoes?

I could sort of buy it in the case of Batman, or Captain America, but somebody like Thor? I feel like we're diluting this concept.

From a meta-standpoint I can see why we want these characters around. But when Jane Foster is literally telling Thor that he needs to be Thor I'm just like, "Is Thor Captain Planet now?"

Next we're going to have Starfire or Green Arrow or Hawkeye or Cyclops passing down their titles to some new student. Imagine that:

• "Son/Daughter, only you can be Cyclops! The world needs Cyclops!"
• "I can't be Hawkeye anymore. But the world needs Hawkeye, here, take this bow and arrow, you do it for awhile!"

Edited by Soble on Aug 28th 2019 at 7:13:21 AM

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!

We already have another Hawkeye that's a better Hawkeye than the original Hawkeye.

Why can you buy it for Batman and not Thor? Thor is explicitly a god, someone who protects the Ten Realms and if he's gone, why wouldn't they want a replacement for him?

Edited by alliterator on Aug 28th 2019 at 7:17:40 AM

x2 Green Arrow and Hawkeye did have legacies that take up their identity (Conner Hawke and Kare Bishop when both characters are dead) or some variation of it (Roy when he became Red Arrow).

Also technically Starfire DID took up that identity from the Russian super hero who once went by the name Starfire who was also a recurring member in the Teen Titans.

Also if you don’t like the whole “World Needs a X hero” concept, then stay the HELL away from the comic Starman. That shit took it to its logicial conclusion where we are seeing like 5 to 6 guys who go under the name Starman; most of which have little to no ties with Ted Knight Starman (aside from his two sons).

Edited by BigK1337 on Sep 2nd 2019 at 5:14:30 AM

Just wait until we meet the Wolverineverse. Because the world can never have enough Wolverines...

Ultimate Secret Wars

X-23 was already the All-New Wolverine while Logan was dead. And she was better at it than Logan was.

There's a story arc in Exiles that is basically Wolverinverse.

Because Batman typically exists in a setting where he's the last line of defense in a city where crime has run rampant, and was created under a very specific set of circumstances, and his name and influence are crucial to his mission. Thor just happened to be the son of Odin, and exists among a literal pantheon of other gods many of whom are mighty and muscular.

And even still I scoff at the idea that there "needs to be a Batman" when you could just upgrade law enforcement, install other caped figures in Gotham, or that there "needs to be a Superman/Green Arrow/Wolverine." From an in-universe standpoint it seems silly to be throwing the role down. Like why was there a "battle for the cowl" at all? Did any Robin really have to become Batman?

But to bring this back to Thor - I don't see a point to having a replacement "Thor" when he seemingly exists in a much larger field of mighty gods - if the movies are accurate Odin is the one doing the protecting prior to Thor. Thor didn't become "Odin."

You can have a replacement "Thor" in spirit but I don't think you need to make or have someone become a literal Thor replacement. Same with Batman. Same with Green Arrow.

But is there a scene of Hawkeye explicitly passing down the title/role of "Hawkeye" like it's a rite of passage?

Both ideas seem rather silly.

Edited by Soble on Sep 3rd 2019 at 6:22:13 AM

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!

Young Avengers Presents #6.

Ultimate Secret Wars

Yes. Tropes Are Not Bad.