History ArtifactTitle / ComicBooks

* When Creator/JackKirby and Creator/JoeSimon created the Newsboy Legion in TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, they were so-called because they were orphans who sold newspapers to earn a living. This had become an anachronism in later years, which was addressed in several different ways:

* "Comic-Con" (In particular the annual one in San Diego, California) has essentially become this. Originally, it was a comic book convention that also supported fandoms for the ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}} genres as well as related genres such as {{Anime}}. Logical, since these genres tend to [[FriendlyFandoms cross-pollinate each other]]. Today, the event has mutated into a {{Hollywood}}/PopCulture/Celebrity festival where comic books are relegated to one small corner and most of the comic book related events are related to the [[MarvelCinematicUniverse mainstream cinematic adaptations of these properties]]. And it is not unusual for festivities to include non-genre fare such as ''{{Glee}}'' or ''BreakingBad''. This has become a subject of discontent amongst hardcore, OldSchool fans who feel that many of the newcomers are there just for the scene.

* Stephanie Brown, ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}}'', originally operated under the superhero identity of the Spoiler. Her name and ''modus operandi'' came from her relationship with her father, the Cluemaster, who was [[CriminalMindgames a B-grade Riddler knockoff]]. Stephanie grew to despise her father and his criminal ways, so she would go out and leave clues to help Franchise/{{Batman}} and Robin catch him, {{spoil|er}}ing his crimes. However, Stephanie quickly branched out into crimefighting beyond her father and she no longer did any "spoiling", she would directly intervene and fight crime herself. She retained the name for years, not counting her brief tenure as the fourth Robin, and there became such a disconnect between her current activities and her original actions that even a lot of her fans did not know where her identity came from. In 2009, following the death of Batman, [[LegacyCharacter she inherited the Batgirl title from Cassandra Cain]] and the Spoiler identity was laid to rest.

** The comic "Batman & Robin" is following this formula as well after the death of Damian Wayne.

* None of the main characters in ''Comicbook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' are (Jedi) Knights: Zayne is a Padawan who missed his first opportunity due to a combination of circumstances and later refused the offer of knighthood after [[ClearMyName clearing his name]], and his companions never had any formal Jedi training (and most of them aren't even Force-sensitive). The comic inherited that title from the [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic video game]], which in turn got it from an even earlier arc of the ''Tales of the Jedi'' limited comic series.

** When Kirby introduced their identical sons in the [[TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]], they were also known as the Newsboy Legion, even though they'd never sold a paper in their lives.

* "Comic-Con" (In particular the annual one in San Diego, California) has essentially become this. Originally, it was a comic book convention that also supported fandoms for the ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}} genres as well as related genres such as {{Anime}}. Logical, since these genres tend to [[FriendlyFandoms cross-pollinate each other]]. Today, the event has mutated into a Hollywood/Popculture/Celebrity festival where comic books are relegated to one small corner. And it is not unusual for panels and celebrities from mainstream shows (shows such as ''BreakingBad'' and ''{{Glee}}'') to draw large crowds. This has become a subject of discontent amongst hardcore, OldSchool fans who feel that many of the newcomers are there just for the scene.

* The title of the graphic novel series ''ThirtyDaysOfNight'' refers to the period during the winter in Barrow, Alaska, during which the sun doesn't rise for 30 days straight. In the series, a legion of vampires takes advantage of this to go on a 30-day feeding frenzy without worrying about the sun. The series went on to take place in locations other than Alaska, but retained the title. The events in Barrow set most of the rest of the series in continuous motion by making vampires in danger of being exposed because of the huge massacre in Barrow. So it's partially justified in that the events in the first installment remain important as the series goes on.

* Not exactly a series title, but the name of the ComicBook/XMen foes "The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" became a bit obsolete when Magneto was recharacterized as a WellIntentionedExtremist as opposed to a CardCarryingVillain. Usually they justify it by Magneto intentionally invoking ThenLetMeBeEvil.

* The ComicBook/IronMan armor isn't really iron anymore.
** Hell, going by ''AvengersVsXMen'', it's not even ''metal'' anymore!

* Not exactly a series title, but the name of the XMen foes "The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" became a bit obsolete when Magneto was recharacterized as a WellIntentionedExtremist as opposed to a CardCarryingVillain. Usually they justify it by Magneto intentionally invoking ThenLetMeBeEvil.

* Stephanie Brown, ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}}'', originally operated under the superhero identity of 'the Spoiler.' Her name and ''modus operandi'' came from her relationship with her father, the Cluemaster, who was [[CriminalMindgames a B-grade Riddler knockoff]]. Stephanie grew to despise her father and his criminal ways, so she would go out and leave clues to help Franchise/{{Batman}} and Robin catch him, {{spoil|er}}ing his crimes. However, Stephanie quickly branched out into crimefighting beyond her father and she no longer did any "spoiling", she would directly intervene and fight crime herself. She retained the name for years, not counting her brief tenure as the fourth Robin, and there became such a disconnect between her current activities and her original actions that even a lot of her fans did not know where her identity came from. In 2009, following the death of Batman, [[LegacyCharacter she inherited the Batgirl title from Cassandra Cain]] and the Spoiler identity was laid to rest.

* The home titles of DCComics' ''Comicbook/EnemyAce'' feature were ''Our Army At War'' and ''Star-Spangled War Stories''. For the mostly-American readership, the tales of German WorldWarOne ace Hans von Hammer were neither "star-spangled" nor about "our" army.

* The IronMan armor isn't really iron anymore.

* The home titles of DCComics' ''EnemyAce'' feature were ''Our Army At War'' and ''Star-Spangled War Stories''. For the mostly-American readership, the tales of German WorldWarOne ace Hans von Hammer were neither "star-spangled" nor about "our" army.

* ''[[ComicBook/{{Suzie}} Suzie Comics]]'' published by ArchieComics in TheForties and TheFifties originally focused on the titular heroine - a [[BrainlessBeauty beautiful but ditzy]] young woman who was forever losing jobs due to her ineptness. She eventually gained a friend called Ferdie (who ranged between UnluckyChildhoodFriend and actual boyfriend depending on the issue) who slowly came to dominate the comic. By the time the comic ended in 1954 it was still named after Suzie and she continued to appear on the cover but Ferdie was the real star with Suzie largely resricted to playing his StraightMan love interest.

* ''Suzie Comics'' published by ArchieComics in TheForties and TheFifties originally focused on the titular heroine - a [[BrainlessBeauty beautiful but ditzy]] young woman who was forever losing jobs due to her ineptness. She eventually gained a friend called Ferdie (who ranged between UnluckyChildhoodFriend and actual boyfriend depending on the issue) who slowly came to dominate the comic. By the time the comic ended in 1954 it was still named after Suzie and she continued to appear on the cover but Ferdie was the real star with Suzie largely resricted to playing his StraightMan love interest.

* In the 1940s, Fiction House had a series called ''Werewolf Hunter'', featuring Professor Armand Broussard, an OccultDetective. While his first appearance had him facing a werewolf, most of his subsequent stories had nothing to do with werewolves.

* The title of the graphic novel series ''ThirtyDaysOfNight'' refers to the period during the winter in Barrow, Alaska during which the sun doesn't rise for 30 days straight. In the series, a legion of vampires takes advantage of this to go on a 30 day feeding frenzy without worrying about the sun. The series went on to take place in locations other than Alaska, but retained the title. The events in Barrow set most of the rest of the series in continuous motion by making vampires in danger of being exposed because of the huge massacre in Barrow. So it's partially justified in that the events in the first installment remain important as the series goes on.

* {{Main/Superman}} is the last son of Krypton. Except for {{Main/Supergirl}}. And General Zod. And the city of Kandor. And {{Main/KryptoTheSuperdog}}...

* The 'DC' in ''DCComics'' originally stood for ''Detective Comics''. Very few of their comics today feature actual detectives, and officially the acronym no longer has any meaning.[[note]]If it ''did'', the company's name would be [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment "Detective Comics Comics."]][[/note]] Similarly, while the actual ''Detective Comics'' publication does feature {{Batman}}, "the world's greatest detective", many of the stories therein feature little or no actual detective work.