Often I have said the internet is where context goes to die, and a very real reason for this is the kind of virtual immortality that dwells there. Time and again I see work—not just mine—from decades ago touted as “controversial” when there was no such application originally. (One such example is the adult Superman kissing the teenage Lana Lang—at her request—in GENERATIONS III. Something that was seen at the time as a poignant fairy tale moment—which was approved by DC editorial—but which in decades since has been stirred about by posters on the Web—many too young to have read the scene when published—until it has become stripped of context. Similarly, ten year old Sue Storm’s childhood crush on college student Reed Richards has been inverted and perverted by commentators who are oblivious to context.)

The longer something is “preserved” online, the more likely it is to fall under the scrutiny of individuals whose own moral compass seems much in need of realignment.

But time is the issue. The perfectly innocent “Baby it’s Cold Outside” has been reinterpreted as a “date rape” song, and the ten year (possibly more) gap Stan Lee established between Reed and Sue has been turned into an adult male lusting after an underage girl. Nothing further from the truth.

As I said, these people are telling us much about themselves.