Stop Forgiving

When you love a character, or a family of characters, they can inspire and encourage you. But all too often, writers and editors use a character in a disgusting plot twist that takes all of that away. It is an insult to existing fans who have been reading a series, and it serves as a deterrent for new readers to begin following a character.

It is also simply poor writing. When writers have a character severely injured or killed just to create an angry reaction in the title character, it is poor writing. Good writers should have enough skill to develop changes in a character's life or attitude without having to put their children, sidekick/partners, or girlfriends/spouses in the hospital or a casket. This trend has been labeled, discussed, and highly criticized. But the trend continues and the damage even to iconic characters continues. The most recent victim was the young granddaughter of Green Arrow, Lian. Her death has caused a lot of discussion over the past weeks, but there are so many other characters who have been sacrificed to the same tired plot device. From the crippling of Batgirl Barbara Gordon to the rape and murder of Sue Dibny, to the death of Lian, the trend continues.

So why do fans forgive DC so easily? Every time a character is abused or killed to create angst for the other characters, fans cry foul on blogs and message boards. But many fans continue to buy the same titles. When we continue to buy a title, aren't we sending the message that it is fine for DC to publish more of the same? DC editorial does not seem to read many fan posts, but they do read their own sales numbers. Is it time to stop forgiving and send DC a message?