Internet Backdraft/Comic Books

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • When Nightwing #93 came out, it was a major fight in the Comics Forum if Nightwing was raped, or it was consensual sex, or even if men can get raped at all. A poster on Something Awful's comics subforum actually took Nightwing #93 to a rape counselor for their opinion on if it was rape or not, that's how far this one went. If you were wondering, according to the counselor, it was.
  • Wolverine. Go onto any X-Men forum and mention that you either love or hate Wolverine. In particular, the Origin comics and/or the way he's completely taken over Marvel are good for this sort of thing. If for some reason you survive this and still have a death wish, then just MENTION the fact that Rogue has a civilian name
  • Who is Spider-Man's true love, Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane Watson? Or is it Black Cat? And while we're on that topic, ask Spider-Man fans what they think of One More Day, Brand New Day, and One Moment in Time. There are examples on this very wiki.
    • One More Day has also opened the door to debate over whether marriage actually does tremendously age a character or not. Oh, and do not even ask if Carlie Cooper is a good love interest.
  • Who is stronger, DC's Superman, or Marvel's Thor? If you like your flamewars extra-crispy, throw in the question "Can Superman lift Mjolnir?", then stand back and watch the immolation. This is true of every single "Vs." scenario on a comics board. Every one, no matter how lopsided, will start a flamewar, because there's always someone who thinks Batman can beat the Anti-Monitor with a week of prep time or something.
  • Transformers fans come in many different varieties, but there is a vocal faction that maintains that the 1984-91 comic series (and its 1994-95 sequel mini-series, Generation 2) published by Marvel Comics is the definitive iteration of the franchise and derides the existence of any other version of the story and mythology (apart from the 1986 animated movie, which seems to be universally enjoyed by the fandom). There is also a cross-over between this group and another that maintains that Simon Furman is the definitive Transformers writer and refuses to consider any version of the mythos that exists without his input or approval as canon. These groups thus refuse to consider the animated series (apart from the movie) as canon, but accept Beast Wars as Furman wrote an episode and the series is broadly compatible with comic continuity. However, they then deride the sequel series, Beast Machines, which reintroduces elements from the original animated series which clash with the comic, such as Vector Sigma. These flame wars and arguments can sometimes be exemplified by the debate between with the cartoon idea that the unimpressive Quintessons (whose entire civilisation was briefly brought down by just seven Autobots in the movie) were the creators of Cybertron and the Transformers, whilst the comics maintained that both were in fact created by a god-like hyper-intelligence from before the dawn of time (Primus).
    • Simon Furman later attempted to straighten out the whole mess by decreeing that there is an enormous Transformers multiverse consisting of many different dimensions and realities in which the original comic, the numerous different cartoon series, the Japanese version of the mythos, the Michael Bay movie, etc., all coexist, and wrote some stories featuring cross-overs between them.
      • Given the sometimes severe differences between the series, this doesn't help matters at all when someone attempts to reconcile them. Did the Quintessons create the Transformers or did Primus?
    • Then there's the concept of female Transformers. Furman says that transformers have no gender, and yet individuals who self-identify as female appear in most continuities that aren't written by Furman (although they are rare). There has been a lot of Fan Wank over exactly how Transformers see gender and why there are so few females compared to males. This leads directly into Slash Fic wank, where slash proponents claim that since Transformers have no human concept of gender they wouldn't care about the pronoun of the robot (or for that matter, robots) that they happen to be making out with.
    • TRUKK NOT MUNKY
    • Then there is the problem of Bob Budiansky VS. Furman. Dare to mention that The Carwash of Doom or the Scraplets or the Underbase-stories are better than Furman's later stories and you'll get flamed to hell.
    • An old Transformers joke goes as follows: How many Transfans does it take to change a lightbulb? Twenty-one: one to change the bulb, and twenty to complain about how much better the bulb was in the eighties.
    • Do not say you like Pat Lee unless you're a masochist.
  • Elf Quest. The comic contains roc-like huge birds. Asking whether these would physically be able to fly is just asking for a flame war. "No, biology says they can't" -- "Yes, you can see them flying in issue 17". And so forth.
  • Cassandra Cain, decent character ruined by being given to a horrible writer or horrible Canon Sue that needs to be killed off as soon as possible? Also occurs to a lesser extent with X-23.
  • Ask comic book fans who is right in the Civil War: pro-regs or anti-regs, and watch how in less than 3 minutes grown up people start to accuse each other of being Nazis/Terrorists.
  • The Watchmen film adaptation has caused a particular ping-ponging back draft, as the movie seems to inspire a clear amount of Love It or Hate It. Topics include whether it should have been made against the creator's wishes, the quality of the final product as a whole, or just the altered ending in the film and whether it worked or not. Note that this a vast understatement of how these arguments usually play out.
  • Mention Young Justice's cancellation. Chances are, someone will go on a soapbox about how Teen Titans ruined the characters or ignored the good ones, or just say that YJ fans were a bunch of immature kids.
  • Ask Teen Titans fans who's better: The former Young Justice members or the '80s-era ones? Sit back and watch the backdraft commence.
  • DC's Crises - Was Infinite Crisis a load of crap? Is Final Crisis the greatest thing ever? The only thing the fans can agree on is that Amazons Attack isn't even worth the paper it's printed on.
  • Is Supergirl a shallow megabitch Paris Hilton-wannabe with a belt instead of a skirt - or is she a legitimate character?
    • Just for clarification, we are talking about the version that was reintroduced in 2004. Kal's cousin was originally killed in 1985 before Paris Hilton was invented.
      • There's also her depiction in the Mike Turner Supergirls.
  • Feminism in comics in general.
    • Also, whether any given female character's death is an example of Women in Refrigerators.
    • Say anything about Gail Simone or Devin Grayson that isn't pure praise and worship. Prepare to be accused of being a "MISOGYNIST!" even if you're a Real Life feminist or if you point out legitimate flaws in their stories (like, you know, Nightwing and Tarantula).
    • Oh, and if you happen to not be a fan of one of those female characters whose Women in Refrigerators death continues to linger? So many flames, even if she's gotten better.
      • Speaking of which, no one is allowed to negatively criticize WIR, ever, or the term derived from it.
      • On the feminism issue, do not mention Stripperiffic or Most Common Superpower on an internet forum, approximately 30% of comic people will flame you for it hard enough to burn a hole through Adamantium
  • Legacy characters, particularly in DC, are a huge cause of this. For years, you couldn't set foot in a DC Comics Green Lantern forum and ask about Hal Jordan/Kyle Rayner without a debate sparking up. And Ron Raymond/Jason Rusch as Firestorm? It's almost punny.
    • In the case of GL, Take a Third Option and tell the Hal and/or Kyle fans that you'd rather have (insert name: Alan Scott, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, G'nort, etc.). Say your prayers and wait for your martyrdom.
  • There's actually an example of this in an episode of The Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon gets in an internet argument with Batman fans over which Robin should be the rightful successor of Batman, in the event of Batman's death. It then spills over in real life when Sheldon mentions the argument to a friend who's a comic book salesman, and then they begin arguing with each other.
    • It becomes Hilarious in Hindsight because Sheldon feels Dick Grayson should get the cowl, while Stuart wanted Jason Todd to take up the mantle (with one fan on a message board humorously replying "anybody that thinks Jason Todd should be Batman does not deserve to sleep with Penny'). Sheldon of course, was right.
  • Uncanny X-Men # 350. That's the issue that revealed Gambit was responsible for recruiting the Marauders on behalf of Mr. Sinister, resulting in him ultimately being responsible for the Morlock Massacre.
  • More to the point, that reveal is followed by Rogue leaving Gambit in Antarctica, without even the shirt on his back. They got back together.
    • Oh just mention Remy/Rogue if you want a flame war. Either she killed his character or he killed hers and there are still fans of the pairing too.
    • Mentioned above, but don't try to change the topic by saying Rogue's real name is "Marie", it will only make it worse
  • Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic: discussing the Unfortunate Implications of Rotor's life partner Cobar being tortured to death in the "25 Years Later" storyline has led to an argument on the discussion page that reached the point where an admin had to lock the page.
  • God help you if you defend "Justice League: Cry for Justice". And forget about defending the death of Lian Harper. You might as well just turn off the internet now.
  • Cassie Sandsmark: A horrible waste of ink and paper since the day she was created and propped up as the best thing ever that deserves the most family unfriendly death EVER, or a once-fun character that was unfairly derailed by writers who keep undoing any development that others try to give her? For your own sake, do not bring up either view around people that think the opposite.
    • Another question about her guaranteed to generate backdraft is if it's okay for her to grieve and "wangst" over her boyfriend's death, or if even her showing feelings for Superboy in the first place derailed her from being a compelling feminist character.
  • Say you liked anything written by Geoff Johns, even before his Dork Age, in a forum populated by those who hate what he's done. Be prepared to be accused of supporting misogyny, being a white supremacist, and wanting your comics the way your granddaddy liked them (even if you're a fan of the '90s heroes that DC's been slaughtering and have qualms too).
  • Regarding Final Crisis, there's some intense debate over whether Batman should've shot Darkseid. Specifically, whether he should've used a gun. For some reason, there are people who think that a guy who doesn't use guns should stick to that promise even when the entire Multiverse is at stake.
  • Mention that you have read Cerebus without qualifying your statement by saying that Dave Sim is the Worst Man Ever and a total big meany. Watch the flames come in as a result. Or, if you really want to start something, say that that you read it, but also say that you think Sim might by onto something with his views on women and on the Torah.
  • Pretty much any non-comic fan making character judgements about DC superheroes without taking into account the changes brought on by the Cosmic Retcon of Crisis on Infinite Earths will cause comic book readers to blow a gasket in frustration.
  • Go on to a comics forum and simply mention the 2011 DC Comics reboot. If the server hasn't completely melted as a result of the ensuing arguments, then mention how Barbara Gordon is going to be Batgirl. Bonus points if you mention that you actually approve of that development. That should do the trick.
    • Barbara Gordon's case is particularly complicated by the fact that, pre-reboot, she was both one of if not the most high-profile disabled characters in comic books and often cited as a prime example of the Women in Refrigerators effect mentioned above. So naturally, once all of that was filtered through the Internet Arguments Oversimplification System, if you approved of her regaining use of her legs you were ableist, if you didn't you were sexist or even misogynistic. And that's not even getting into the arguments about whether Cassandra Cain and / or Stephanie Brown were better or more important as Batgirl than Barbara was.
  • The Dreamwidth community scans_daily is a veritable hive of wank. For instance:
    • Mention anything bad happening to a female character. Even an innocent M*A*S*H reference got a mod-smackdown.
      • Pretty much any posting which addresses race, sexuality and gender in comics can create a firestorm in the right conditions. Or even the wrong conditions.
    • Say you think The Modern Age of Comic Books is the best age of comic books.
    • Even Gail Simone, one of the community's favorite writers and a semi-frequent poster there, isn't immune from their wrath. Recently, she wrote an issue in which a gay character apparently commits suicide. The community yelled at her to Stop Being Stereotypical. When she explained that they should wait and see how the arc resolves, they fired back at her that it doesn't matter how the arc resolves, as it's still a stereotype. Simone said Screw This, I'm Outta Here. She got the last laugh, though, as the next issue revealed the character to be alive!
  • Almost anything and everything about Wonder Woman and what's been happening to her in the last few years[when?] will provoke screaming matches in the right places:
    • Whether she should have pants or not.
    • Gail Simone's arc, particularly Genocyde.
    • Pretty much everything J. Michael Straczynski's arc, but particularly the costume and the changes to her backstory.
    • On the whole, Brian Azzarello's opening run following the 2011 reboot has been well-received, but arguments can still erupt about the changes to her origin: specifically, whether her origin as a clay statue given life is superior to the revamp, where she was directly fathered by Zeus.
      • Then Wonder Woman # 7 came out. Every thirty years the Amazons would have sex with men then kill them. They keep the girls that they conceive and give the boys to Hephaestus. Some were angry about how barbaric it made the Amazons look, while others praised it for going back to it's mythological roots
  • Anything written by Scott Lobdell. Be it Starfire's sexuality, Tim Drake and Bart Allen fighting over a sweater, or waffles; there will be wank. You either think he's okay, or he's the Rob Liefeld of comic book writers.
  • The X-Men spinoff New X-Men is something of a Cult Classic, never reaching astronomical sales numbers but maintaining an enduring fanbase all the same, and it had two diametrically-opposed runs in its time: the first, by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christine Weir, was essentially a lighthearted high school drama, and the followup run by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost was a Darker and Edgier traditional superhero book. Now, you can quite easily get away with saying you liked either of these runs, but what you should never voice your opinion on is which you thought was better. DeFilippis/Weir had no conflict! Kyle/Yost was gratuitously gory and insulting to fans! The title's been canceled for years and bringing up this subject is still a barrel of TNT waiting to go off. DeFilippis, who is active in fan communities, has repeatedly come out to defend Kyle and Yost from angry fans, for what it's worth.
  • Go onto any Buffy the Vampire Slayer forum and bring up the comics. Sit back and watch a battle erupt over whether they're a good addition to the canon or totally screwed up and little better than glorified fanfic.
  • A recent Life With Archie: The Married Life story was highlighted by the marriage of Kevin Keller to his life partner. Groups such as One Million Moms raised hell about the issue, and about the Archie comics in general. The result was a massive backfire on their part--the issue sold out in record time, and secondhand copies are being sold online for up to ten times the original price.
  • Doing a series of prequel to Watchmen was always going to be controversial, as it's one of the most loved works in comics history. Add in the fact that Alan Moore has a well-publicised beef with the DC Comics higher-ups over the rights to the series and has vocally spoken out against the prequels, however, and you're just creating the perfect circumstances for a wank of megaton proportions. And so it was when Before Watchmen was announced...
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Internet_Backdraft/Comic_Books?oldid=1789664"