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Altho it continued to be used, that one went out the window the moment other Kryptonian males started showing up. The Phantom Zone prisoners. Kandor.

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Writers being terribly, terribly clever.

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Many people say "unique" when what they mean is "special."

DC's nicknames were usually more noble sounding, if duller. (Which sort of sums up the difference between the two companies right there!)

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Marvel's nicknames sounded like the sort a group of friends might come up with about each other. Somewhat mocking but good natured Like "Ginger", "Specs" or "Lefty". DC's sounded like they were invented by people who write newspaper headlines or adverts. Marvel's use of "The Golden Avenger" , "The Star-Spangled Avenger", "The Green Goliath" and similar nicknames lean more into the latter as well.

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Unfortunately, Marvel's nicknames laid the groundwork for fans using them indiscriminately, often forgetting the context.

It's fine for the Thing to call Doctor Doom "Doomsie," or one of the X-Men to call Magneto "Maggie." But when the fans start doing it, it shows a lack of respect for the characters. And even if it is a small thing, it sets the rot in motion. Go on long enough, and we get the casual contempt so many modern fans show for their addiction.

When the Marvel influence started to creep over to DC, we ended up with nicknames like "Supes" and, even worse, "Bats." cringe

But there is an odd and all too common function in writing comics, in which things that are known to the writers begin to creep in as things that are known by the characters. Classic example: when was Superman dumb enough to tell the World that he had a secret identity? Obviously he didn't, but this knowledge worked its way in because the writers knew it.

So, too, with these abbreviated names. And, as has been pointed out elsewhere, often these incursions make no sense. It's reasonable enough for a writer pounding out a script to refer to Wonder Woman as WW, but it makes to sense to have characters call her that. "Wonder Woman" is actually a shorter syllable count!

Bottom line, for me, I do not notice STAR WARS or HARRY POTTER fans lumbering the characters with cutsie-poo nicknames. No "Hannie" or "Lukie" or "Potty." How about the same respect for the character we claim to love so much in comics?