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Even tho they are "brand new characters".

Once again, DC's idea of housecleaning is sweeping stuff from room to room.

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The "problem" lies in neither the characters nor the amount of time any of them have been published. Mickey Mouse is galloping toward his 100th Anniversary, and do you notice him, or any of the Disney characters, being encumbered like this? Does Dick Tracy require a copious knowledge of his publishing history in order to read the strips?

The problem lies where is ALWAYS lies -- with the fact that fans are running the show now, and despite all protests to the contrary, they cannot behave like real professionals.

Try to imagine that "retooling" of which you speak happening if today's mindset had been extant in the 1950s. That scene of Barry Allen reading a copy of FLASH comics alone would have caused heads to explode -- except, of course, it would never have been printed. Instead, the first appearance of the "Silver Age" Flash would have been a bloated, convoluted attempt to explain "what happened" to Jay Garrick that would have driven away potential new readers long before Barry Allen got introduced. IF Barry Allen got introduced.

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I'm a ten year old potential new reader, and you just lost me.

Green Lantern is actually a pretty good model for how to introduce a new version of an old character. First, of course, it must be acknowledged by all concerned that these are CHARACTERS, that they are FICTIONAL, and that the only parts of their backstory that are important are those that the writers and editors DECIDE are important. In the case of the Silver Age Green Lantern, that was NONE of the previous material other than the name. New look, new guy in the suit, new origin, the works. NOTHING to tie this character to the "original" Green Lantern -- because in the context of this relaunch there WAS NO "original" Green Lantern.

And what about the Green Lantern Corps? Is that something we want to hit the readers with right out of the gate? Hal Jordan gets his power ring from a dying alien in a uniform. That tells us there's something MORE to this, but virtually nothing about it is addressed in the first story. Abin Sur tells Hal that the power battery is "given only to selected patrolmen in the super-galactic system" and THAT'S IT. It's not until the eighth story, in the first issue of GL's own comic, that the Guardians show up. It's the SIXTH issue, of a BIMONTHLY magazine, before another Green Lantern (other than Abin Sur) shows up.

The story was built slowly and carefully, giving readers time to familiarize themselves with the growing mythology. And at no point was any of that mythology considered carved in stone. When Tomar Re shows up in that 6th issue, he calls himself "Green Lantern", even tho it is HAL who coins the name in the first story. The Guardians, when they first appeared in the first issue, used the term SOLELY to describe the guy to whom Abin Sur gave the power battery -- and they do not at first realize Hal Jordan and GL are the same man!

All of that is contrivance, of course, to allow a retelling of the origin in the first issue -- but there's another vital element that is so often forgotten: EVERY ISSUE IS THE FIRST ISSUE FOR SOMEBODY. The origins were retold often, and characters did not hesitate to launch into expository dialog, often telling each other things they should already know, JUST to make sure the readers were caught up.

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It really is "The Flash of Two Worlds" that opens the floodgates.

Back in those days, an occasional "wink" to those parts of the audience that was more in the know than the general crowd was acceptable. Pros and fans alike understood the ground rules, and mostly played along. Those who didn't -- well, their letters went into the nearest trash can, and that was that!

"The Flash of Two Worlds" introduced me to Jay Garrick, and, indeed, to the whole idea of "parallel worlds". It was instantly one of my favorite stories, and remains so (tho I am fully aware of the creakiness that has crept in with the passing of the decades). Thing was, altho I was aware that these characters had been around for a while, the idea of a "publishing history" was completely alien to me. Heck, I didn't even figure out when the books came out, month to month, until YEARS later. So when Jay and his baddies appeared, I did not feel I was "missing" something by not being fully up to speed on the "Golden Age" Flash. In fact, "Golden Age" was not a term I'd even heard, at least not in reference to comics.*

Sadly, what should have been a glorious one-shot became, instead, a focus for obsessive fanboys and archeologist. And the rot set it.

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Even if some later "archaeologist" had come along and felt the need to reconcile the golden age versions with their silver age counterparts, it could possibly have been done as a reveal (The Lantern had given Alan Scott a false history; Al Pratt & Jay Garrick paraded around as superheroes in college until they graduated, became scientists, and, respectively, discovered the ability to shrink or had an accident that re-ignited his speed power).

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WAY too complicated! How it was done was best. A clean start. No need for readers to have ANY experience of "what had gone before". No need to explain elapsed time. No need to worry about anal-retentive fanboys. Nothing to cause even a moments hesitation for a potential new reader. Just jump in with a whole bunch of new characters and say IT STARTS HERE.

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* And when I did hear it, I had one of my first twinges of annoyance at the automatic self-deprecation of the industry in which I wished to make my career. Why were those early comics -- most of which were crudely drawn and poorly written -- considered "Golden"? What was WRONG with the current stuff??