It’s a bit like the ‘Batman effect’. Is he the campy hero from the 60’s or the dark, gritty vigilante?

Both versions are valid parts of the character’s history, but the one that resonates most with the current culture usually becomes the ‘definitive’ one for that era. It seems like we’ve just reached a point where we’re more drawn to nuanced tragic backstories than the ‘monster of the week’ tropes of the past.