Probably a question for the comics Reddit but I’m a film fan

In the comics which as I understand it are a shared universe, how are the characters not constantly running into each other?

With decades of stories and established lore by different creators but consistent crossovers, how is there not always someone asking where X person is?

For instance wouldn’t the cities in Marvel comic universe be overrun with superheroes to the point where nothing is ever at stake? There’s so many to rely on vs the movies where there’s a somewhat plausible reason and few characters comparatively.

Excuse my lack of comics knowledge, I’ve read Watchmen and a handful of manga when I was a kid so not much graphic novel knowledge either but huge film buff.

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Commentaires

tomparryjones2025-10-04 03:16

They have to be that way so the stories can happen

Moist-Illustrator-572025-10-04 03:23

I get that, but for continuity’s sake are other heroes brought up or is it skimmed over in an Iron Man 3, Winter soldier type of way?

BatmanForever232025-10-04 10:55

What, every time a comic is written? Of course not lmao

TiredDr2025-10-04 12:18

It depends a little on the book, the writer, and what else is going on in the universe in continuity terms. You get big events where lots of heroes or villains come together, then they break up and go their separate ways for a while, and you might get cross over events or cameos.

kinyutaka2025-10-04 03:22

The comics are written largely as stand-alone series, with only easter eggs and minor cameos included... Until a major story arc comes in.

So, you'll have the Fantastic Four fighting the forces of Subterrainea, in the middle of New York City, and the Avengers are no where to be found. Because the writers weren't writing a cross-over, they were writing a Fantastic Four story.

But it is a shared universe, so Team-Ups and Events and other Cross-Overs happen. Spider-Man will randomly chat with Daredevil, She-Hulk will pop in to help Bruce. And yes, some of the quippier characters will joke about how Wolverine isn't there when you need him.

That's not unique to Marvel. DC does it all the time, too. They sprinkle in references to "that yahoo in Gotham City" until it's time for Batman to help Superman fight Darkseid.

Best thing to do is remember the MST3K Mantra: It's just a show, I should really just relax.

judasmitchell2025-10-04 03:31

You have to just assume something has other characters occupied. There is a lot of pocket dimensions, hells, planets, galaxies, diverging timelines, ect to keep them separated as well. You know which characters are likely to be pulled in based on which series you’re pulling from. Retcons, plot contradictions, and the like happen between series and over years. Plus, a lot of the heroes don’t trust each other or have different goals so they aren’t necessarily going to contact each other for anything.

FoxyMiira2025-10-04 03:36

Because if it's not relevant to the story it's a waste of literal panel space to include it and each comic issue has a specific page count limit. People can understand when they are reading a Batman comic they are in for a Batman-focused story. Without Batman name dropping like a dozen events and characters outside of his bubble (Bat-family, Batman villains, Batman incorporated etc) that are happening in-universe for no reason.

It's like the real life reasons on why there are crossover constraints. Budget, licensing, scheduling, hiring actors etc

koreawut2025-10-04 04:32

Aside from what others have mentioned, there is this general idea that if the good guys improve their tech, so do the bad guys. That's kind of a real world thing with technology. So whyever not have so many bad guys that there is a constant need for good guys?

Moon_Beans12025-10-04 05:07

DC has it a bit easier as they have different cities and aren't mostly crammed in New York but I think Marvel has attempted to go for the vibe of living in NYC rather than the reality of thousands of god powered beings hanging out in the same city. So if you live in New York and even if you know a lot of people you still spend most of the day interacting with strangers. Same is the general idea with comic characters.

IamHardware2025-10-04 08:28

Early 80s Marvel comics were great at mentioning other heroes and where they might be or at least showing someone (like Soider-Man or Dr. Strange) "sensing something was amiss"

I know for at least a couple of years it seemed like every book every story every character knew where everyone one in the MU was and passing references were thrown about througbout every book I read.

Hot_Consideration_862025-10-04 09:29

Honestly, they *do* bump into each other all the time. In addition to yearly event comics that span several real life months (usually around May to September), characters cameo and crossover with each other all the time. And that’s not even accounting for books like Marvel Team-Up, where heroes running into another hero (typically Spider-Man) is the whole point of the book.

YourFellowMiguelo2025-10-04 09:59

Not everybody lives in the same city. 🤷🏽

Apprehensive-Quit3532025-10-04 10:02

In Marvel they kinda do. A good 90% of heroes are based in NYC.

seliselio2025-10-04 13:02

Without a bat signal in the sky it's rare you'd find out in time to help. Thinking of your city having a shooting downtown. You often only hear about it later on the news.