I saw a thread on Twitter and Reddit asking whether characters like Batman, Iron Man, and Iron Fist actually need to be wealthy for their stories to work. Some people were saying that, in the DCU, Batman doesn’t have to be rich—he could just be middle class and the story would still work. Similarly, if the MCU gets rebooted, Tony Stark wouldn’t necessarily need to be wealthy and could be working class instead.
A lot of people argued that this would make these characters more relatable and easier to root for. Personally, I’d say no. Elseworlds stories are fine, but if you’re adapting these characters into movies or TV shows, you should stay at least somewhat comic-accurate. Their wealth is a key part of who they are.
Stark Industries, Wayne Enterprises, and Rand Industries are characters in the story too, and they play important roles in shaping these heroes and their worlds.
It’s similar to how Clark Kent being a reporter or Peter Parker struggling financially are essential to their characters. Those traits help define their stories.
What do you think?
Tony would be really cool. imagine if he had to rely on a community of people to build shitty-but-miraculously effective contraptions. And the focus would be on how he has to positively interact with people to allow him to be a guy who tinkers instead of getting a real job
Maybe Bruce too but his trauma is more of a barrier to social existence. It would take a way more creative writer to work out him working through his problems with anything other than money. Bet it would be cool though
Tony has amazing skills. He could make just about anything. I think there’s some story potential here.
Bruce would probably end up being a bum or a weirdo. If you like redemption arcs, the story of Bruce could be interesting.
Bruce Wayne broke just becomes Rorschach