It's What We Do

There's a bit of discussion on the old Kung Fu Monkey about the Blue Beetle, a character that John Rogers and Keith Giffen and Cully Hamner are re-inventing /introducing/imagining for DC Comics.

Now someone calling themself "Ted Kord's Ghost" is complaining about why they killed the character of the Blue Beetle off (The Ted Kord version, not the previous Dan Garrett version), and are now re-launching him. John makes the arguement that he and Keith didn't kill off Ted Kord, but you know what?

I wouldn't blame him if he had.

It's what we do.

As writers it's our job to make things absolutely tough for our characters. Impossible even. It's our job to give them weaknesses that no normal person could ever overcome. It's our job to give them so much baggage that it would take an entire cadre of SkyCaps to load it all up onto the plane.

It's our job to fuck them up any way we can, not for the sake of fuckin' 'em up, but for the sake of the story.

You remember story, right?

So, "Ted Kord's Ghost," get over it. Spank your inner moppet. Load up a couple of hankies. Talk to a thera-pissed. Pour over those old Charltons that are now as brown as the tea I'm drinking, and wank off to the good old days. Whatever.

This is our job, and in order for us to do it well, (imaginary) characters such as the likable Mr. Kord have to eat a bullet every now and then.
They have to break up with their girlfriends.
They have to argue and do stupid, weak things.
They have to drink.
They have to put themselves in situations where there is no possible hope of survival.

It's all so they can remind us why they're called heroes in the first place. Because heroes overcome all the crap that kill lesser men, or if they don't overcome it, they sure as hell stand up to it.