At what point should the story end?

This is a question the constantly crosses my mind for both television and comics. When should you just leave the characters alone and go to something new? Is it better to end Captain America or constantly change up the status quo for example, it is a tough call.

    So would you rather get 5 seasons of your favorite show but only have 3 that were good? Sadly I think it is executives trying to ride the hype of a show as long as they can. Not every show is like Breaking Bad brilliant from start to finish , more often its like Dexter or True Blood. The shows wind up ending with a whimper and being a shadow of what they once were. I think shows and comics should run as long as it takes to tell the story that was intended for them.

   Now I have no issue with revisiting something if there is reason to. Bring back a show or book after some time has passed and you have a fresh story to tell. I get why this may be easier said than done for TV but for comics it would be far simpler. Instead of giving us 3 issues of filler either make the releases further apart or have the book end until a new story that is worth being told is ready to be told. I can understand the reasoning as to why they do not do this, it is lost money on their part. We will buy the filler issue anyway and same with TV we watch the episode hoping it gets better. So how do we resolve this? We have to talk with our wallets, if the show is bad do not watch it and if the comic is bad do not buy it. People will often voice their disapproval but do nothing to actually change it. On the flip side how can you criticize something if you have not seen or read it?

   I know I am countering my own arguments, but like I said at the start it is a tough call. I do not think there is a perfect answer waiting to be found. Often that is life though right? I would be interested to hear what you all think, please feel free to share with me. As for what prompted me to go on about this it was the newest Captain America news. If you do not want spoilers please read no further.

                                                                                                                                             

   Still here? Well you were warned. So in the newest issue of Captain America it is revealed that Steve Rogers has been a Hydra sleeper agent the ENTIRE time.  Now first off I am aware that it is the first issue of an arc and there will obviously be more to explain things. But I feel the basic idea of this makes no sense. If Cap was always a sleeper agent why has he actively turned down power? Why was the Red Skull so focused on Cap and why would he have thwarted every Hydra plan ever? This just screams we are doing something to make the news to me. And really even that makes no sense , with Captain America: Civil War out right now I would argue he is at the height of popularity.

  So I was talking to a friend and we came up with a theory that would have been much better. I am not just hating on this because they are making Steve Rogers a Nazi , I take issue with it because it does not seem well thought out. The idea we had was what if Steve Rogers actually died in Civil War I? And then was replaced with a sleeper Hydra agent or perhaps and alternate dimension Steve that was a Hydra agent. That would then make the entire history of Steve Rogers make sense and not leave you asking but why or how did X happen. From there I say bring Bucky back as Captain America to hunt down Steve. It would parallel the Winter Soldier arc and allow Bucky to understand what Steve went through for him,

   I do not claim to have the right answer its just a thought I had. So what do you think of it? Do you agree with Marvel's route or mine or maybe neither? Please let me know