The Circle of Life in Superhero Comics Storytelling

Video essayist Evan Puschak of The Nerdwriter diagrammed superhero comic storytelling, noting how such tools as the development of individual characters, crossover events, and character reboots when stories get too complex, all work to create a full lifecycle that is most satisfying to fans and most profitable to investors.

Reliance on interconnectivity grows crossover events occur with increasing frequency. Standalone stories become rarer. Continuity gets convoluted… To be understood in the end, the only option left is a…. refresh or a reboot. …Things get simplified, histories erased, and characters are brought back from the dead. This is circle of life in superhero comics