Originally posted by CosmicComet
[B]Based on what? The All Star Superman DVD did great numbers, was number 7 for DVD sales the month it came out. He has been in several direct to dvd movies the last couple of years and they've all done well. He may be in some slump in comic sales, but that's nothing new for any character. He also has a new movie coming out soon.
Number 7, woah. Superman's sales in everything for the past few years have been, as you just described here, average at best.
And nothing you've stated has been meaningful in determining what exactly could topple these qualities. Other characters have been successful, others have stood the test of time, few even come close to Superman's achievements in these regard.
You're putting words in my mouth. I stated that Superman is an absolete character. Obsolete is an objective word with an objective definition. Being obsolete is not something that is determined by points of view, like being "good" is, there are objective qualities that define wither a character is obsolete or not. I'll make this clear for you here.
Objectively, the definition of obsolete is something that is declining in use or no longer being used. Notice that it says absolutely nothing there about being recognizable, being popular, or being the original.
However,
Objectively, Superman's sales have been declining, not just on and off, but consistently, over the years.
Objectively, the overarching storyline of of the DC universe no longer has Superman at it's epicenter, that role has shifted to characters such as the Green Lanterns, Batman, and people like Superboy Prime.
Objectively, every aspect of Superman's personality has been covered in the past 70 years of storylines, and writers have had serious trouble writing up storylines that aren't redundant for him.
All of these things combined are a sign that Superman is, going by the definition of the word itself, obsolete.
Simply saying his nigh unmatchable qualities don't make good over and over does not do anything for you. Simply say right now who you think is number one.
This has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Like, even a little bit.
Likewise it would be irresponsible to credit one with majorly less impact or recognizibility than he has as being above him in some list. Some upstart character cannot be number 1, some middling obsure character also cannot be number one. At some point in these lists objectively measurable things must be taken into account. A legacy character is the most viable pick as they often fulfil those objective measures (eg: the first, the longet running, best selling, most recognizable in polls etc), and he is one of the biggest legacy characters, and one of the few I can think of that is still on the forefront of public thought. Mickey, Bugs...Superman is easily above them in visibility right now. Batman fairs well, but he is 99% the same as Superman in legacy anyway. [/quote[I have trouble understanding statements that aren't worded very well and have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Aura does as well apparently, since he too said he didn't understand what you meant.Again, utterly irrelevant to my point.
[quote]Derp?