Should something be allowed to evolve?

[AsurasEyes]

I was talking with some friends who liked the comics of Batman, the subject was the Chris Nolan Batman movies, movies that I consider to be works of fucking art. Now, I liked them because they had Joker, Bane, Ras al Gul, and Scarecrow grow and develop from their comic book counterparts, who had become parodies of themselves. At least in my opinion. That and the subject of them changing the backstories of all the main villains and characters in the New 52 stories, it makes me wonder, should a franchise and/or character evolve over time, or should they stay static in their ideals and personality?

 

[Kolby Jack]

One of the reasons Wally West is my favorite comic book character is because unlike pretty much the rest of the DC Universe, The Flash was not quite as static. Barry Allen died and stayed dead for 20 years, meanwhile Wally West took up the mantle and became The Flash, not only meeting the greatness of his mentor, but surpassing it. He's pretty much the ONLY sidekick in comic history to do that, unless you count Dick Grayson's brief stint as Batman.

However, sometimes characters benefit from being static because they're so iconic that any changes would either need to be VERY gradual or never happen at all. Superman is the primary example of this. He's certainly not really the same character he was 70 years ago, but he's largely been consistent over long periods of time. Even the 90's with their stupid mullet and attempt at Super-cide could barely make any changes without massive outcries of bullshit.

So really it's a case-by-case basis. Some characters benefit from it, some don't. Some characters that WOULD benefit greatly from change are paralyzed by their author's downright crippling fear of it. Lookin' at you, Spider-man.

 

[MammothBlade]

That is a good question. There isn't much complaint when there are endless retellings of Shakespeare plays, of literary classics, or of mythology. Those are deeply ingrained in culture. Importantly, they are free from a central authority deciding what the Hamlet or Frankenstein "brand" should look like. Multi-media franchises such as Batman and Doctor Who are still copyrighted and marketed, and their evolution (or lack of it) is decided by its proprietors. The creative directors of Batman will inevitably receive criticism if they choose to change something, or even leave it as it is. Granted, not as many people care about the creative direction of Hamlet as they do about Batman canon. At this point I could go into a tangential rant about commercially-driven pop culture, but I won't.

I think all folklore and culture should be allowed to "evolve", but if a story forgets its roots and its meaning, it becomes something else entirely. Who knows, Batman could be totally unrecognisable within a thousand years except for the name.

 

[Tiger Sora]

I'd love for characters to grow and change. To die and be replaced. And in cartoons to not wear the same cloths every day.

I think they should try, but only because I want to see how they'd really handle something like this. And I want change, living with the system we have all my life. >.> Boring and very jarring at times.

 

[aba1]

I don't mind retelling where things change but they should not be part of the original storyline or else things don't make any sense.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I love seeing a character grow and change, it makes them feel more alive in my mind, but writers should be careful so the story doesn't completely derail and run off on some tangent no one cares about.

I'm also in the mind set that Pikachu needs to evolve. Although I know why it won't happen, it needs to happen.

 

[Daniel Ferguson]

I'm guessing you don't mean this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIZSIhKPYms

 

[hermes]

Funny that you mention it, since Batman and his nemesis are among the most dynamic characters out there. Every comic book writer out there wants a chance to make "his Batman" and "his Joker". In the mean time, Batman went from a guy with a gun, to a man that never kills, to the cheese version of Adam West, the gritty and bulky version of Miller and the movie version of Burton and Nolan, which inspired stuff like the animated series...

The problem is that most of those changes don't tend to last, and it always gets reset to a status quo when they change writers.