Comic book fans have endured a decade of character assassinations and ideological subversion as publishers increasingly prioritize political messaging over storytelling, especially when it comes to mainstream comics. Wes from the YouTube channel Thinking Critical has emerged as a powerful voice for disaffected readers, consistently calling out the industry's worst offenses against beloved characters and franchises.
In a recent video, Thinking Critical identified five modern comics that represent the most egregious betrayals of fans and the destruction of iconic heroes. These examples highlight the industry's ongoing problems with political activism masquerading as storytelling.
America Chavez #5 tops the list as what Thinking Critical calls "the self-insert apocalypse." This issue features what he describes as "arguably the single worst page ever printed in Marvel Comics history," where Kate Bishop gushes that she wishes she were a lesbian like America, calling it "incredible" and expressing awe as America flies away with her girlfriend.
"America Chavez hiring Gabby Rivera who had one YA story, not a graphic novel, but a story to her credit was hired solely because she was Latina lesbian for this book," Thinking Critical explains. "Had no idea what she was doing, and America Chavez number five is truly her masterpiece, her magnum opus of what a terrible idea this was."
Heroes in Crisis #8 earns the second spot for its character assassination of Wally West. Thinking Critical notes how Tom King "took the modern obsession with deconstructing heroes and drove it straight into a wall" by revealing that Wally had "killed several heroes at Sanctuary in a convoluted plot that involved faking his own death, time travel, and killing his own alternate self."
The impact was devastating for fans who had waited years for Wally's return. "Heroes in Crisis number eight is the absolute worst. It is the drizzling shits and definitely a moment in time that not only destroyed a character but actually destroyed the reputation of Tom King as well," Thinking Critical states.
Punisher #12 by Jason Aaron represents what Thinking Critical calls "pandering to the mob." The video explains how Marvel caved to pressure from activists who objected to the Punisher logo being adopted by military and police. Rather than defending the character, "Aaron's run rewrote Frank Castle's entire origin, revealing his wife was leaving him, his kids were incidental, and he had been a killer since childhood."
"You never ever bow or kneel to the mob. And that's exactly what Marvel Comics did after years of pressure," Thinking Critical observes.
Batman #50 makes the list for what Thinking Critical describes as "one of the worst bait and switches in comic book history." After hyping Batman and Catwoman's wedding for over a year and encouraging retailers to throw midnight parties, DC spoiled the non-wedding three days before release via the New York Times.
"They went out to the retailers and they said, 'We want you to open up at midnight and throw wedding parties for Batman 50. We want you to have invitations. We want you to have wedding cakes,'" Thinking Critical recounts, noting how retailers invested their own money only to be left "holding the bag" when the wedding didn't happen.
Finally, Iceman #1 rounds out the list for establishing the trend of sexuality retcons that now plague the industry. Thinking Critical explains how "the way Marvel handled Iceman's outing as gay was less about representation and more about erasure," transforming "one of the founding X-Men into a completely different character overnight."
"This set that terrible precedent where now we've got all these sexuality retcons," Thinking Critical concludes, noting how this approach has spread to characters like Alan Scott, Jon Kent, and Tim Drake.
Through videos like this, Thinking Critical continues to articulate the frustrations of longtime comic readers who have watched their favorite characters sacrificed on the altar of political messaging. By identifying these specific examples of betrayal, the channel provides a valuable service to fans seeking to understand how and why their beloved medium has lost its way.
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This is what happens when you don't respect, canon, your readers and truth in general.
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