How the DC Comics Multiverse Could Be DC’s Saving Grace

If there’s one thing DC has always embraced more than Marvel, it’s the multiverse. While Marvel does have a multiverse, they have never spent much time to flesh it out or clearly define how it works. Additionally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has made no hint of a multiverse crossover, even though it is technically part of the Marvel multiverse. Mutiverse crossovers are common in comicbooks, but most might say that including a multiverse in a cinematic universe would be too much to handle. However I would have said the same of a shared universe 10 years ago, and Marvel proved me wrong there.

In this post, I have a lot of seemingly random details to cover, so I’m just going to state my argument here, then slowly show you how it all works. My argument is that DC should, and probably will, use the concept of the multiverse in their film/television universes. By that I mean, they will have a crossover of their film/television universes (and potentially other mediums as well).

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The Sequel Conundrum

A Problem with Change

Few groups of people can get as angry as a group of fans who feel betrayed. As a fan of many things, I have felt this way before. So many fans of science fiction and fantasy properties have a problem with change. The more popular it is, the more they will hate any changes made.

There are two types of change that I can think of, changes to the original material, or changes in subsequent material. The latter fosters much debate on staying true to the originals. I’m a Star Wars fan, and we have this problem all the time. In fact, one of my pet peeves involves people who say the prequels (or any other Star Wars material) are not Star Wars. They’re definitely Star Wars, they’re just not the original films. Additionally, fans don’t always appreciate the changes that George Lucas has made to the originals, even when he is absolutely in his rights to do so. J. R. R. Tolkien did the same thing to later editions of the Hobbit, in an attempt to fit better with The Lord of the Rings. People don’t criticize him for doing this. Why? Because the changes were better! But had we existed at the time of The Hobbit’s publications, we probably wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about him messing with our childhoods and changing the book.
I’m not sure I get it myself. Fans have a way of forming expectations in their minds, then get angry when those expectations are not exactly what happens. Expectations ruin many experiences. Even if the end result is very good, expecting something different can turn you off to that result.

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