Multiverse Musings: Incoherency Warning

I've always had mixed feelings about the multiverse concept. To be honest, I've always found the Silver Age crossover stories to be just a little silly. Fun, don't get me wrong, but when it comes down to it, I much prefer having the JSA and JLA on the same Earth.

I like the sense of legacy and direct inspiration available that way. Also, I like having a world where Jay Garrick can raise Barry Allen's grandson, where Hal Jordan's successor can date Alan Scott's daughter. I like the thought of the JSA as the forerunners with the JLA as the heavy hitters. It makes for an interesting balance and a sense of lineage that works much better for me than Barry Allen getting his code name from a comic book. (Wouldn't Clark or Bruce or Diana have noticed that the other comic book characters/their E-2 counterparts, had the same secret identity names?!)

That and I'd really rather not see the Earth-2 characters shunted aside, because that would get real annoying. I'd much rather see them interact, at least, sporadically, with their Earth-1/New Earth Counterparts...without the need for dimensional travel being referenced.

I'm particularly glad that at least right now, no one but Power Girl seems to remember the split Earths. This is just a personal thing, but I never liked the thought of Superman and Batman in the JSA. I think they tend to overshadow the other characters. Besides. They WEREN'T in the original JSA anyway. Hmph. I also like Hippolyta a lot, and think she's much more in spirit with the original Diana. I like that Hippolyta is remembered as Hippolyta, and that the heroism of the JSA isn't pinned on a man in blue and red tights.

But that doesn't mean I'm against the thought of a multiverse in general. Because a multiverse could be FUN. I LOVE Elseworlds. And I've always liked the "for want of a nail" sorts of scenarios. What if a character turned right instead of left?

I think they should be used sporadically though. While it's lots of fun to shove a character into a different dimension, where everything is familiar, yet different, too often loses the impact.

But it can be lots of fun! (Hal Jordan falling into a world where Parallax never struck and Kyle Rayner is eevil! I'd read that!)

Also it allows for the opportunity of some Nocturne-esque fucked up offspring possibilities to break people's brains with. (Nocturne= AU kid of Kurt Wagner and Wanda Maximoff). There's some hilarious and/or terrifying potential there. Like...what if Guy Gardner and Amanda Waller ever had a kid?

...hmm, maybe it'd be better if we just stuck to a universe for now, after all...