That is what businesses do. Lets step away from comics for a moment.
No.
This isn't about profit......Well, not short term profit anyway. Mediocrity can only be so profitable. Originality, on the other hand, is a long term investment. And a new character doesn't have to be like an older, already successful character, to sell well.
Two things that I'm aware of are notorious for breeding mediocrity. The first one's novelty, and the second one's repetition. Both might ensure a steady stream of profit for a relatively decent amount of time. But that won't
maximize profits, nor will it promote quality.
Look at the Bourne trilogy of movies. Faded concept, revitalised. Jason Bourne was a bloody ninja in that movie. I read the book: no ninja moves. Or the latest Bond movie, Skyfall, which was essentially Batman Begins (murdered parents, big mansion, cave, Alfred character, car with tricks, Joker-esque enemy). Bond isn't Batman, in essence, But this seemed the best way of vitalising an asset.
The first Bourne film, and the concept it introduced, was decent. The second and third films--as well as their spiritual sequel Green Line--were trash (and I'm not even going to mention the Bourne Legacy). In my view, it was their attempt to try and sell the weak ideas of the sequels with fight scenes that best illustrated the franchise's lack luster premise.
I can't really comment on Skyfall. Aside from Tomorrow Never Dies, I find just about every Bond film boring as fuck.
