I find it disturbing and disappointing that so many comic book characters lately have been watered down to nearly nothing. By this, I’m referring to the fact that once-unique characters have been shown to be retroactively influenced by something else that made them into what they are, or worse yet, coming from a long line of the same characters who served in the role previously.

Before I go on about the industry’s latest examples of this, let’s take a look at comics in the 1960s first, as that’s where some of this stems from. When DC Comics wanted to “reinvent” their stable of classic characters from the 1930s and 1940s, some of them stayed the same, like the iconic Superman and Batman. Others, like Green Lantern and the Flash, got massive makeovers; brand-new characters operating under those code names were introduced. In Green Lantern’s case, it was soon revealed that Hal Jordan was just one of many Green Lanterns operating across the cosmos. However, since he was the only human one (at the time), he was still unique. With the Flash, while both the newer one (Barry Allen) and his predecessor (Jay Garrick) had the gift of superspeed, the way they acquired it was vastly different, as was the way they handled their own lives. So again, even though they were similar, the storylines were constructed in such a way as to make them very different.

As time went on, thousands of new characters emerged, many of them very unique, and it stayed that way for quite some time. And when the Green Lantern comics grew stagnant, the powers-that-be at DC killed Hal Jordan off along with the Green Lantern Corps, and introduced a newcomer to the role, Kyle Rayner. While fan reaction was decidedly mixed, the fact is that Kyle brought a completely fresh take to the book; he had no one to really train him, and no Corps to lean on for support. This really made the Green Lantern saga new again.

Well, good things never last, do they? Once Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps were brought back to life via the events of Green Lantern: Rebirth, Kyle was relegated to a standard Corps role. Writers then toyed around by briefly turning him into Ion again, the personification of the Green Lanterns’ willpower, but at this point it was too late; Kyle had been changed from a unique character to just another Green Lantern in the crowd. Worse yet, his personality’s been altered to the point where he’s just a shadow of his former “everyman” self.

Even worse off is Iron Fist. Yes, I know he’s a rather ridiculous 1970s martial arts stereotype, but I like that shit, so hear me out on this one. While Danny Rand’s popularity in the 1970s and early 1980s didn’t last, multiple attempts were made to bring him back into the Marvel Comics mainstream. The most recent attempt is The Immortal Iron Fist, the current ongoing series. While the book’s been quite good so far, there’s one colossal problem with it that has adversely affected the character’s appeal: this series revealed that Danny Rand is the latest in a long line of Iron Fists that came before him. Worse yet, it also revealed that there are other mystical cities like K’un L’un (where Danny trained), and each of those has their own line of Immortal Weapons like Iron Fist. Danny went from being a unique character to just another guy in line. In fact, most issues of The Immortal Iron Fist have been about Iron Fists other than Danny! He’s been shoved to the background in his own damn book!

Next up is Grendel. The original Grendel, Hunter Rose, was a brilliant young man who was so bored with his existence that he turned to a life of crime. While simultaneously living the lush life as a famous author, Rose eventually became the top crimelord in New York City, due to his supreme intellect and ruthlessness when dealing with his enemies. He was eventually killed by the werewolf Argent, and over the centuries that followed, his legend spawned copycats, political movements, and even religions. So, while Grendel eventually became a legend unto itself, the core of the story was just a regular human being named Hunter Rose.

Well, that may all be retconned out now. Grendel: Behold the Devil, an eight-issue miniseries by the original creator, Matt Wagner, has revealed that Hunter Rose may have been influenced by a demon all of his life, and that’s what turned him into Grendel. Furthermore, this demon gave Rose visions of future Grendels and their effect on society. If this turns out to be true, then instead of being a unique character, Hunter Rose will actually be a product of something else. In this case, it completely ruins the entire Grendel mythos! Wagner might as well have named the miniseries Grendel: The Devil Made Me Do It, since it’s implied Rose is no longer fully responsible for his own deeds. Ugh. Wagner recently addressed this, essentially stating that “demons are known to lie.” That sounds an awful lot like backpedaling to me; was the demon responsible for Grendel, or not?

As for the visions of the future, Wagner’s said that these prove Rose’s arrogance; by refusing to act, it makes him responsible for the downfall of society in the centuries to come. Even by comic book standards, that’s preposterous. One crimelord on the East Coast makes a splash, and it’s all his fault that humanity falls apart? I don’t think so. His legend may have started this domino effect, but placing the blame squarely on Rose’s shoulders is just plain stupid. Do we blame Al Capone for the war on terrorism? Do we blame Elvis Presley for the ironfisted dictatorship of Kim Jong Il? Of course not. The fact that the legend of Grendel ended up transforming into a world power hundreds of years down the line is sheer coincidence. If Grendel hadn’t existed, humanity would’ve gone down the same dark path, just under someone else’s flag. Rose is no more responsible for any of that than Jesus is responsible for religious zealots slaughtering people in his name.

As you can see, too many heroes are rapidly losing their uniqueness. When that happens…why bother reading them, when it’s all the same thing over and over again? If this keeps up, what will we have left?