Yeah there's a reason the "edgy" 90s are derided.
Yet it was 90's comics that got most people into comics in the first place. A lot of that was derided- but the Infinity Wars, and quite a chunk of the more popular things incorporated into the cinematic universe were plucked right out of the Iron Age of comics. Sure, there was a lot of absurd shit in the 90's... and looking back at it, it's easy for us to roll our eyes. But I think back then, they found that EXTREEEEEEEEME sold fairly well and they were desperately trying to find something that would stick during the crash.
And the crash is what gets a lot of extra hate thrown on 90's comics- which, it had nothing to do with the theme and more to do with Marvel buying into speculator bullshit and fans not being as stupid as they thought.
And let's not sit here and pretentiously act like the Silver Age gave us anything other than some names and costumes, especially after Wertham convinced comic companies to neuter themselves.
I also think that "wokeness" in media is just a phase, too. It's clear that "wokeness" and "diversity" are being used to pander to the Milennial generation ... And they are also being used as a shield for corporations when the product is shitty.
....
These corporations don't mean shit when they try to be woke. They're after the money. Always.
You're correct. And I'll put it this way, I know someone who works in the industry- he's not a big name, he's not that important, but he's been around since I was a kid in high school. So, my disclaimer is that you can feel free to write this off as "some bullshit I made up on the internet" if you like.
Basically, the comics industry- just like many other entertainment industries- when they make products, they're reaching out to social media to do research. They watch Youtube, sure... but Facebook and Twitter provide an easier market research landscape. So when one of the Avengers cast members tweets something that gets a zillion thumbsy-uppies, or it causes a stir and gets a shitload of responses... the people in the comics industry zero in on it and pay attention. Things that get responses from people seem like money-makers.
Now, I could write a whole fucking page on why using Twitter as a baseline demographic is like using /pol/ as a resource on a Holocaust research paper, but let's just say that it's a bad idea. It's not like conservatives or even regular normal people generate a buzz on Twitter, if they're not getting banned for silliness.
When some boomer up at the top of some entertainment company just wants to know what's "trending"- he's got about five minutes for someone to present a general trend analysis to him, and he's going to make a decision on where the creativity needs to go.
You also have to understand that this is the era of "dragging". It doesn't take much for someone to decide that a brand or company is somehow racist/sexist/homophobic and start a massive controversy. In the era of fake news where every self-absorbed Twitter blue-check is desperate for validation- they'll put their own hot take on a bullshit opinion, some actor/actress desperately trying to stay relevant will add their own spin and retweet...and it'll become a goddamned wildfire.
Suddenly your company is being boycotted, people are refusing to carry your products, and you're having to make an apology for bigotry and hire a bunch of useless and untalented niggers and women to prove you're not a bigot. And then you lose
more money.
So in a nutshell: "Woke" is an entertainment company looking at trends in a bad demographic sample, and then trying to figure out whether or not their next decision is going to get them smeared online and cost them more money in the future. In the end, it just seems safer to appease the rabid woke outrage mob until the rest of civilization figures out how to tard-wrangle them into compliance.
