The Top Five Fresh Starts in Comics
Many people see the start of a new year as a chance to start over and make some much needed [...]
Many people see the start of a new year as a chance to start over and make some much needed changes to their personal lives. While most people's New Year's Resolutions end in failure, the promise of a fresh start offers hope and optimism for many during one of the darkest times of the year. Superheroes occasionally need a fresh start too. Whether it's a new identity or a change in occupation, one of the easiest ways for a creator to shake a character up is to put them in a fresh setting with a radically different outlook on life.
To celebrate the new year and a year full of new chances, here's five characters who made a major life change in comics:
Daredevil
For the past thirty or so years, Daredevil hasn't had an easy life. The death of his lover Elektra kicked off a seemingly never ending train of misery and woe that would break even the strongest of heroes. After suffering through a demonic possession in Shadowland, Daredevil briefly left New York City and returned a few months a changed man in a new Daredevil series written by Mark Waid and illustrated largely by Chris Samnee. For the first time in decades, Matt Murdock had a swashbuckling, carefree attitude and almost looked as if he were enjoying himself fighting crime. While Daredevil's attitude was a much needed breath of fresh air, his friends questioned whether Murdock's sanity had finally cracked.
Halfway through Waid and Samnee's run, Daredevil would make an even bigger life change. After losing his license to practice law in New York, Murdoch moved his practice to California, the one state where he could still legally be a lawyer. Taking his girlfriend Kristen McDuffie and his best friend Foggy Nelson with him, Murdoch set up shop in San Francisco and started cleaning up the streets as Daredevil in his spare time.
prevnextSuperman
Recently, Superman's life has had plenty of upheaval of its own. After decades of hiding his true identity from the world, Lois Lane outed Superman as Clark Kent to protect him from being blackmailed by an evil hacking syndicate. Fired from the Daily Planet and hounded by the press and government officials, Superman temporarily abandoned his old life and moved to Alabama, where he adopted the persona of Archie Clayton, a truck driver for a local laundry company. As Clayton, Superman investigated a new supervillain named Wrath, who had attacked Superman in Metropolis. Superman's fight against Wrath is still ongoing, so we'll see how long he'll keep his new truck driver identity.
prevnextSpider-Man
In 2008, Spider-Man got a "Brand New Day" during a much hyped story arc in Amazing Spider-Man. After making a deal with Mephisto to save his aunt's life, Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson was erased from existence, making him a bachelor for the first time in decades. Not only was he now a single man, Spider-Man also enjoyed a secret identity once again, as Doctor Strange erased everyone's memories of Spider-Man unmasking to the public during Civil War. "Brand New Day" also introduced a host of new supporting cast members, including Harry Osborn, who returned from the dead via (then) unknown circumstances. Parker's life has continued to change dramatically during the following few years, culminating in Parker starting his own tech company and becoming a globetrotting millionaire.
prevnextStar-Lord
Star-Lord's new lease on life came during one of the galaxy's darkest hours. Peter Quill began his career in space as an intergalactic policeman of sorts, traveling through space on a sentient spaceship named Ship. However, Quill's life took a tragic turn after he encountered a murderous former Herald of Galactus named the Fallen One. The Fallen One believed he could stop Galactus by destroying every planet in his path, robbing Galactus of his food source. With billions of lives on the line, Quill sacrificed a small Kree colony to stop the Fallen One, leading to his imprisonment in the Klyn, an intergalactic prison, for genocide. Star-Lord thought he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison, but Nova freed him to fight against the invading Annihilation wave. Quill's actions during the Annihilation war planted the first seeds for him forming an new Guardians of the Galaxy, although it would take one more galaxy-threatening invasion for the team to come together.
prevnextWonder Woman
In 1968, Wonder Woman gave her bracelets, golden lasso and superpowers to remain in "Man's World" when her fellow Amazons abandoned Earth for a different dimension to restore their waning magic. Now powerless, Wonder Woman opened up a boutique and trained in martial arts under a blind master named I-Ching to make up for her missing powers. For about two years, Wonder Woman became a fashionably dressed adventurer, traveling the world with I-Ching and fighting a set of more grounded and realistic foes. However, DC quickly changed their mind about Wonder Woman's new direction and returned her to her classic costume and more traditional superhero adventures.
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