The whole point of having great characters is the opportunity to explore them more deeply with time, re-interpreting them for each new age.
It was the dawn of the third age of mankind.
There was a point when comics were considered to be mainly of interest to kids, and it was decided that kids could relate more to someone their own age than an adult. So suddenly all these previously grownup comics were lousy with sidekicks: Aquagirl, Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy, Stripesy... the list goes on.
