So how is it that Superman is spared from the embargo.

[Antiyonder]

Disclaimer: This is not a thread about bashing or complaining about the embargos, just for understanding the rule of this particular one.

The topic has been acknowledge/brought up in several threads I've been reading. Now to go over the famous ones:

1. Batman- Due to The Batman, the cast was off limits to JLU, Due to Batman Begins, Scarecrow and Ghoul were off limits to The Batman, as well as Batman appearing on Smallville. Also Robin couldn't appear on TB while Teen Titans was in production.

2. Aquaman- Basically when WB was making an Aquaman series in the same format as Smallville, the characters were off limit to JLU as the bat characters were.


Now how is it that Superman and his cast were spared from the embargo? Even when Smallville was on the air, you'd have an occasional or constant appearance by Lex Luthor, Martha & Jonathan Kent on Justice League/JLU. As well as the Superman characters that appeared on Legion Of Super Heroes.

I'd attribute it to him being the iconic character, but Batman also shares the same status, so that theory is off.

[oldmanwinters]

Hmm, overcoming a precedent of embargo?

That does sound like a job for Superman!

[Antiyonder]

Hmm, overcoming a precedent of embargo?

That does sound like a job for Superman!

Again, this thread is not a complaint, but a question as to why one particular character is embargo free. Because it hurts credibility when one can't keep their rules consistent.

[Bird Boy]

Probably the same way Batman was exempt from his own embargo--they're two of the most iconic characters to ever come out of comics. There's no way DC Comics is going to limit their usage.

As for his supporting cast...they're really not as popular as, say, Robin and Batgirl. There are already so many variants of Superman's supporting cast in popular media, that DC likely didn't worry about their usage. I mean multiple Kent families and Lois Lane's isn't going to affect the marketability, considering they're not characters that would really suffer from having multiple incarnations of.

-BB

[Wolf Boy2]

Probably the same way Batman was exempt from his own embargo--they're two of the most iconic characters to ever come out of comics. There's no way DC Comics is going to limit their usage.

As for his supporting cast...they're really not as popular as, say, Robin and Batgirl. There are already so many variants of Superman's supporting cast in popular media, that DC likely didn't worry about their usage. I mean multiple Kent families and Lois Lane's isn't going to affect the marketability, considering they're not characters that would really suffer from having multiple incarnations of.

-BB
I always thought it had to do with toy marketing. Kids won't generally buy several versions of the same characters. When I was a kid, I played with the Schumacher movie toys even though I watched B:TAS. Therefore, why give screen time to Batman Begins toys like Ra's and Scarecrow when you can give it to Killer Moth and Bane? Likewise with the heroes. But non toy characters like the Kents and Lois would be fair game.

The only problem with this theory is that Mercy Reef wouldn't have had a toy contract ....:confused:

[warnerbroman]

and yet WW can't do this

[The Weed Of Cri]

With all the hundreds (thousands?) of posts on this forum regarding the various embargoes and how they work, by now it should be obvious to everyone:

1) There are no set rules regarding embargoes. Every one seems to have its own set of restrictions, and even these may change by circumstance.

2) Nothing fans say will have any effect on the embargoes, so we'd all better spend our time kvetching about the weather. At least the weather turns good once in a while.

[Stu]

Timm himself has said that trying to figure out a logic behind the embargos was nonsensical. For example, The Batman weren't allowed to use Jim Gordon when the show first started. 2 seasons later, they were. Why the sudden change of heart? No one's sure.

I'm not privy to DC's rules on this one but I do find them to be nonsensical. It wasn't so bad with the Batman embargo as there was a wealth of other characters to use but Smallville in paticular appears to have had to change directions with Clark and Lois because of the Superman Returns movie.

The Aquaman one escapes me too - one would think they'd want the exposure JLU would give the character, as most see him as the dude who talks to fish. Especially when the version from Mercy Reef didn't actually seem to have that much to do with Aquaman at all.

Curiously, despite his prominant role in Smallville, Green Arrow was allowed to appear in both JLU and The Batman. I don't think there's any point in applying logic to these embargos because the rules seem to be scattered all over the place.