Has Aunt May Got Younger? (aka the Supporting Character Portrayal Thread)

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In the Ditko Spider-Man comics Aunt May seems really frail, decrepid, days away from death, you'd have to put her in her late 60s at the earliest but she's often drawn like an 80-year old.

Since then Peter has obviously aged but Aunt May has if anything got younger, partly because the writers have given her plot roles beyond waiting and worrying. She's romanced Jarvis, whose comics age has tended to veer between about 40 and about 60. What monkey glands has the woman been on?

Basically I'm interested in how supporting characters change - whether they age, whether they're allowed to change much, whether they get much of a life or even a consistent portrayal beyond whatever status as foil their initial setup locks them into. (Most other Spidey characters are quite fairly treated, because they have to age at around the same rate Peter does).

― Groke, Monday, 5 March 2007 18:59 (eighteen years ago)

This thread arose from my first reaction to the latest Aunt May plot developments being "Well, she's had a good innings".

― Groke, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:00 (eighteen years ago)

Another test case - how old is Franklin Richards? (Though there have been at least two "age him prematurely" plots and I don't know if there was some reset when he recovered from those)

― Groke, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:02 (eighteen years ago)

When did Ma and Pa Kent start getting younger, exactly? Presumably it's an attempt to tie things up with Smallville -- it's an improvement on death (i.e. pre-crisis), anyway. Superman makes more sense to me with two parents. He's the average American joe, not an outsider like Batman. Plus, I like old people.

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:05 (eighteen years ago)

The Kents got radically younger in the Crisis, but I don't know how they've been portrayed recently.

Pa Kent may well be for the chop again, though: Johns has him in his sights.

― Groke, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:10 (eighteen years ago)

Headpunch in 5

― David R., Monday, 5 March 2007 19:17 (eighteen years ago)

The DC guys said at panel that they're waiting until Nightwing is older than Batman to kill him off. Though I don't know if they were serious.

― Leee, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:33 (eighteen years ago)

Bets on which limb gets severed first?

― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:34 (eighteen years ago)

BAIT AND (TACKLE) SWITCH

― David R., Monday, 5 March 2007 19:41 (eighteen years ago)

Is Willie Lumpkin still alive?

― chap, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:44 (eighteen years ago)

The Kents' age has very inconsistent lately, there was some v. young Kents and some old Kents, and, I think, one comic where Pa seemed young and Ma seemed old.
Been reading Showcase GL Vol. 2, and Pieface still seems 12, despite being married and having a job. Over the course of GL history, he eventually even had kids who, last I remember, were school-age. Of course, that could all be Superboy Punched so that Pieface is actually older than Green Lantern and always has been.
I read an interesting comment on some msg bd by Kurt Busiek about the pre-Crisis/Silver Age Superman "he should look like he's in his 40s, but claim to be 29".

― Dr. Superman, Monday, 5 March 2007 19:46 (eighteen years ago)

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