JB - Did you ever have plans to have them appear in the FF?

Batman, who is much more of a loner in character, is not, I think, de-uniqued by Robin or Ace in quite the same way. In a way, Batman is made more special by Robin, who reminds us of how great Batman is. Perhaps because Robin's costume isn't in any way derived from the Bat theme (and its bright colours complement the more gloomy colours of the Bat costume) and because he is an inferior apprentice, Robin in some ways enhances Batman. Ace certainly detracts nothing from Batman for me. But the idea of an extended gang working with Batman doesn't really suit the character. Once you get into Batgirl, Batwoman and so on, it's too much. Bat Mite is jump the shark territory.

JB, what's your view on She-Hulk? Clearly you have fondness for the character, but do you think she also dilutes the Hulk?

Darken, Weapon X etc added nothing to Wolverine.

All the Spider-Man variants out there. What's the point?

Having said that, She-Hulk was different in my opinion - she kept her intellect which was different from the Hulk at the time and therefore had a reason (actually, I'm trying to remember now, did she keep her intellect when first introduced? Hmmm)

Do villainous versions count as de-uniquing?  I feel like when it comes to villains, there are some shades.  Like, for example, I don't feel like Bizarro takes away from Superman, but you could make a pretty good argument that Ultraman from the Crime Syndicate does.

I thought the first Iron Man movie did a good example of counter-acting the de-uniquing aspect of the Iron Monger armor with the line about how Tony Stark built his in a cave in the desert, while Stane needed the world's most advanced laboratory and dozens of technicians to make something that ultimately wasn't comparable.

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I'd say so. And I agree with your view on Ultraman. 

What about de-uniquing that isn't really de-uniquing? The Shroud, of Marvel Comics, is a character whose parents were gunned down, leading him to become a vigilante. Yes, he has super powers, unlike Batman, but the origins and motivations are there. And yet it takes nothing away from the Dark Knight, in my view. If you surveyed 10,000 people across the world, 9,999 of them would know who Batman is, but probably between 1 and 3 would know who the Shroud is. I'm referring to 'civilians', by the way, a survey of comic fans might be different.