DC Comics and the Nonsensical Reboot

DC Comics and the Nonsensical Reboot

"Everything Will Change In A[n Unwanted] Flash..."

Editorial Opinion
By MedioCORE - May 31, 2011 11:05 PM EST
Filed Under: DC Comics

This summer, DC Comics launched "Flashpoint," a massive event that would reshape the DC Universe, but we didn't know how. It was speculated that some things would change in the ongoing continuity, and that some things from the altered reality presented in "Flashpoint" would carry over. Well, today, DC Comics announced their plans for the future of the heroes and villains we know.

"The rumors of a massive DC Universe reboothave been confirmed. In September, comic fans will be the recipients of 52 #1 issues as the entire line of DC Universe titles gets a relaunch. Everyone from Superman to Booster Gold will be getting a revamp, which includes redesigns and a "younger" continuity," states the press release that hit the web earlier today.

That's right. They're cancelling almost every book that they have and starting fresh, which sounds great to the "prospective new readers" they are always talking about, but what about the fans and collectors? Recently, DC hit a landmark with Action Comics #900, which saw the return to form for Superman after a stellar run starring Lex Luthor. This 900th issue was a major accomplishment, as the series has ran for that long without a single reboot, renumber, or cancellation... until now. DC also has recently launched several very good titles, such as "Batman: The Dark Knight," "Batman Beyond," "Superboy," "Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors," and others, that are all solid, but only in the single digits in their publication runs, and they are going to be ending along with the other tentpole series like "Batman" and "Superman," which both also reached issue #700 last summer. All these cancellations and shakeups that happen every couple of years has led to an incredibly high number of short "ongoing" series, which end up seeming like a bunch of miniseries.

Aside from the numbering problem, I'd be remiss if I didn't say how great the DC lore has been over the past couple of years. Batman has transformed and branded himself globally, Dick Grayson ascended to the mantle of Batman, Superman has finally gotten back to his good ol' ass-kicking self, Green Lantern Hal Jordan has returned and championed the Corps through some major crises that were great, such as Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night, and Booster Gold has become a more mainstream hero, saving the universe without anyone really knowing it. The world of DC has become a great, modern mythology rich with solid characters and stories, and now they are wiping the slate clean, making all the heroes younger, and giving them new costumes...



Yes, that is Superman back there with the high collar (how does he hide that under his civvies when he is Clark Kent), a clunky looking new "S" shield, and... no red undies. Hal Jordan Green Lantern looks about the same... just a lot younger. Batman looks like he did a couple of years ago, as it seems we will never be seeing his new look that we just now got used to. The Flash looks unnecessarily clunky, not agile and quick like he should. Wonder Woman looks similar to her previous redesign which happed a whole ONE YEAR AGO. And... is that Cyborg? People care about Cyborg? And is Aquaman a male model?

I love Jim Lee, and I think his work is almost always solid. But this idea of "modernization" has just ended with gratuitous overkill. People aren't going to see this stuff and say "I recognize these heroes, I should pick this up," but instead will say "What the hell is going on? These all look like kids trying to be heroes that I recognize... for the mostpart... is that supposed to be Superman?!" I'm not going to blame Jim Lee for this, but it is mostly his doing.

Now Geoff Johns, on the other hand... He has been my personal god and my favorite comic book scribe. His reinvention of Green Lantern has been nothing short of incredible. The 2009 event series "Blackest Night" swept the comic world by storm and is one of the best comic stories I've ever read. However, he was overextending himself over multiple books and events, and it showed with "Brightest Day" and a couple of issues of his "Flash" reboot. And now, after crafting this massive "Flashpoint" event that has been hyped for a year now, he is going to undo everything he has already done, as well as everything all the other writers that have put their souls into this company have done. For what?

I admit, I think it'll be nice to finally see a solid Justice League of America book with the big members of DC like Batman and Superman since they haven't been members of the JLA for a few years now, and the book has been suffering due to poor writing and a roster of little known or little liked characters. But do they really have to say "screw this noise, let's start EVERYTHING over again"?

Also, what is the incentive to keep reading until the reboot? We already know that everything that happens doesn't matter at all, so why bother reading since it's all going to be erased anyways.

Well, now it's time for a conspiracy theory of my own that I can only hope will happen at this point. DC will be launching 52 titles, which is, coincidentally, the number of alternate universes in the DC lore, as well as the amount of weeks in a year. Maybe this whole thing will be yet another event, and be a reintroduction to all the characters and places in the DCU, and maybe it will end in a year, and then the normal numbering and series will continue in a continuity close to what we already have right now. Yeah, we'd have a year of pointless storytelling to deal with, but in my opinion, that would be more entertaining knowing that we'd get to return to the worlds and storylines we have become invested in over the years.

What is the point of dragging characters back to square one? Readers care about characters that learn, age, grow, stories that go somewhere, lead to new things, bring us new places, unfold over time and draw from a rich past. Until today, I've had the utmost faith in Geoff Johns, and I've stood beside DC in their events, even during periods of time where weak issues dominated the racks (for the mostpart), but this is ridiculous. They've effectively alienated their core fanbase in an effort to appeal to a new group of readers that they've always wanted, but have never gotten, because quite frankly, that group doesn't exist. Sure, people get interested and pick up comics here and there, and sometimes that develops into collecting. The influx of comicbook based movies has also helped a little by almost being commercials for the comics, also leading to more people picking up comics. But "rebooting" everything WILL NOT magically attract a whole new readership in droves. In fact, they might lose readers, as all of the stories we have already read will be null and void, and we have to start the whole thing over again, which is a lot of reading, a lot of work, and hardly rewarding.

Maybe this is a knee-jerk reaction, and I hope to whatever god or gods that may or may not be that I am wrong with my frustration and anger, and that this pans out as a fun ride that is enjoyable. But it is quotes like "fans will see a new approach to our storytelling," "start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today's audience," and "redesigns and a "younger" continuity" that raise concern with me.

As a friend of mine said today, "How is it entertaining to see Hal Jordan running around while worrying about the recession?" Great question, my friend, great question.
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GrandWrex
GrandWrex - 6/1/2011, 2:00 AM
the best book in recent years that got me back into comics was the green lantern reboot, ive collected every issue, enjoyed every story and invested myself into the spectacular stories, but now all of a sudden they feel the need to punch me in the gut and say that all those stories won't mean squat when they reboot everything to be more modern and appealing to the new readers.

When i started reading comics i enjoyed buying the back issues as well as the new issuse because i wanted to know the history of the characters i was reading about, and i think some people that do and will eventually read comics enjoy that long history.

It really is a slap in the face for anyone that has already been reading and collecting dc books, i just got my niece and nephew into comics and now their gonna be angry and probably confused by the constant reboots and modernizations:(

i really hope its just another event because if it isn't im gonna bust some dc comic skulls

@Ribbonz and the ones that are in the 100s and up (hopefully but not likely)
shackle
shackle - 6/1/2011, 11:02 AM
I don't believe DC has a major overhaul in mind, just a tweaking, some characters and stories tweaked more than others. It's not razing the house and building a new one, it's cleaning the closet--and some characters have closets the size of gymnasium.
Greenlantern1417
Greenlantern1417 - 6/1/2011, 11:05 AM
Great Article Medicore. I whole heartily agree with everything you're saying. It's one thing to stomach changes and stretches in times lines and characters, but to start everything over again... Marvel did this years ago and it's basically when I lost all interest in reading anything Marvel. Do to prices and this Recession, I've cut back so much on buying books, but it looks as though it's gonna be a light winter when it comes to reading comics. Guess it's back to my other love of tricking out my Green Lantern Mustang.
KingKazma
KingKazma - 6/1/2011, 11:07 AM
This is why I prefer reading Marvel. No Reboots. Sure they tweek some of the origins to modernize it. But they never reboot the whole damn universe! At least now they can get rid of the crapfest that happend to Bats.
darkknightlegend
darkknightlegend - 6/1/2011, 11:16 AM
I full heartedly agree with with this article. I mean people complain about the DC Universe being over-complicated and hard to understand but its part of its charm. Through the years writers have shaped it in to something amazing and a complete reboot would destroy that all. I agree Action and Detective comics shouldnt be renumber. Especially since we could see an Action Comics 1000 some day in the future :P at the same some form of refresh would go astray. I think if done properly this maybe okay. We'll just have to wait till after Flashpoint... *sigh*
Anyway, In Johns we trust
artofjaymz
artofjaymz - 6/1/2011, 11:25 AM
I believe the problem dc AND marvel run into is when they take individual characters and reboot them, because to me just rebooting one character RUINS the overall continuity and makes no sense. I remember how stupid I felt brand new day was to spiderman, because he was already on so many teams with so many people, AND was living in avenger's tower with the new avengers. So how does mephisto just saying "you and MJ arent married anymore" retcon the whole marvel universe into NOT knowing about Spidey's previous life with Mj, and just go on like nothing ever happened.

I think DC knows that eventually it just fricks up your overall continuity when trying to just reboot one or two individual titles, and are trying an overall reboot. Will I think it will stick, who knows. I'm more of a let's wait and see kinda guy, so Im not gonna judge until I see EXACTLY what this will entail. Right now I think there's a lot of freaking out when we don't even know what it is to actually expect until it's upon us. We'll just have to wait and see, it's out of our hands. Way I see it is you can either hope something positive and exciting comes out of this that doesn't completely dump over the characters we love, or you can be negative, hateful, and bitch at a blank screen or a brick wall until your blue in the face, and it'll still happen, and you'll probably still buy the books anyways. The End.

Personally, as more of a Marvel fan, I believe Marvel needs this more than dc, because it's continuity is convoluted and only makes adjustments when new movies come out. At least I still have Walking Dead from Image, at least that continuity so far is runnin decent.
DukeAcureds
DukeAcureds - 6/1/2011, 11:28 AM
@Ribbonz - Totally agree. Action Comics just had #900. If they do renumber it, they'll only go back and do Action Comics #1000 in one of those bloody legacy re-numbering fiascos. There is no way on this planet that they will not give us Action #1000, when the time comes. No way. The first mainstream American comic to hit 1000? They'll do it. So to avoid the [frick]ing legacy numbering bullshit, they must keep it going as is and not renumber it. Same goes for Detective Comics (the one that started it all). Anything else is fair game.
darkknightlegend
darkknightlegend - 6/1/2011, 11:32 AM
Like you said artojazmz,
All I think is that DC is trying to pull in the strands and contain their universe. This will attract new readers that were to scared to jump in the middle of things. At the same time, there have been some epic character developments and i swear to god, I WILL MISS Dick Grayson being Batman. Following Detective Comics and some of the Batman R.I.P/Battle for the Cowl, youve seen a character develop from boy to man. Character development lacks in comics so much these days and many characters are as flat as the story lines theyve been put in. Anyway, new beginnings. Im sure I'll be interested to see how it turns out. In Johns we trust.
AC1
AC1 - 6/1/2011, 11:34 AM
AW HELLLLLLL NO!
Where the [frick] are Superman's pants?! [frick] this shit.
nORKSOMA
nORKSOMA - 6/1/2011, 11:36 AM
I normally don't comment about these Articles but on this one I had a thought that I haven’t seen anyone consider. With the copyright of superman reverting to the estate of the creators I think maybe this is DC’s way of holding onto the character by modernizing it they can corporately hold onto the character. Unfortunately it also means that the way they are doing it warps the entire DC universe.
darkknightlegend
darkknightlegend - 6/1/2011, 11:36 AM
Trudy, Johns loves Cyborg... dont know the [frick] why...
REMIMARKS
REMIMARKS - 6/1/2011, 11:44 AM
DC comic book continuity has always been an issue. The continue to reboot everything. Making it so hard to be keep up with their books. Don't understand why they cant keep things the way they are
AC1
AC1 - 6/1/2011, 11:53 AM
But guys! [frick] Cyborg, we want Superman's pants back!
darkknightlegend
darkknightlegend - 6/1/2011, 11:56 AM
Id trade Cyborg for supermans pants anyday :P
naterator
naterator - 6/1/2011, 12:01 PM
Ok here we go......I hope everyone is prepared for when MOS comes out in 2012 and Supes doesnt have his pants on. Here is my conspiracy theory.....ALL OF THIS IS HAPPENING BECAUSE OF THE LAWSUIT THAT WB IS IN WITH SHUSTER AND SEIGEL. IF THEY GOTTA CHANGE SUPERMAN THEN WHY NOT JUST CHANGE EM ALL??? THERES MY THEORY. its BS. i hope this only lasts a year and doesnt effect the MOS movie coming out...but i have a feeling that it will and then we will see how many people disapprove of the uniform that BRANDON ROUTH put on. I would much rather see the RETURNS suit again than a auit that has a COLLAR and no UNDIES....

FRIENDS DONT LET FRIENDS CHOOSE THIS:

FRIENDS SUPPORT FRIENDS WHO DEFEND THIS:

DukeAcureds
DukeAcureds - 6/1/2011, 12:16 PM
DC continuity has been in a worse state since Crisis than it ever was before.
Every time continuity is rebooted, they carry on, as if it hasn't been rebooted, picking up where they left off before the reboot.
It's like diving into the middle of a story with nothing to read that is officially in-canon. So you end up having to read everything, anyway, even though it's not part of the canon.
Sure, they re-do the origins and cherry-pick little stories in the past of the characters, but you end up with lots of gaps and a great uncertainty about what is actually part of continuity.
The only universe that has ever had consistency is the golden age Earth 2, and that is not exactly something to recommend to new readers.
I hope they restart things properly, this time. From the beginning, not from where they left off.
Greenlantern1417
Greenlantern1417 - 6/1/2011, 12:20 PM
@Intruder - so the moment I was referring to in Marvels wide sweep, which now that I recall, was the whole Onslaught Story line, when something like 90% of the Marvel universe jumped into something that erased there existence. Whether all those characters started over or not, I lost complete interest. And it wasn't till House of M, that MArvel did anything that caught my attention. Just my opinion.
AC1
AC1 - 6/1/2011, 12:30 PM
@naterator I agree, the Returns suit was like 5 notches better than this high collared no pants imposter. This is basically Superman streaking!

Also, does this mean that: Barbara is no longer a paraplegic or Oracle? Dick Grayson will be Robin again? Tim Drake is still happily being breast-fed? Conner Kent hasn't been made yet? Doomsday never killed Superman? Lex Luthor isn't bald? Supergirl is still floating in space? Actually, Krypton hasn't even exploded yet... There are no Teen Titans?

What next? Someone's gunna tell me Santa isn't real.

[frick] this naked blue Superman bullsh*t
JM4Superman
JM4Superman - 6/1/2011, 12:32 PM
@naterator agreed
Hellsing
Hellsing - 6/1/2011, 12:52 PM
its funny how Jim Lee was also involved with the whole Marvel "Heroes Reborn" shit. Seriously why don't they use the whole sliding time scale method characters can be updated with out having to change there history much. I mean look at tony stark his origin was first set in the vietnam war, then updated to the gulf war and in the 2000's to afghanistan nothing about the character changed he just got updated same thing with The Thing he started out as World War 2 pilot but then they updated it to the Gulf War I believe.

@GreenLantern14 that was never a reboot of the whole marvel universe, only the avengers, FF and Doom, rest of the universe was intact. It was its own little bubble.
skullboy
skullboy - 6/1/2011, 1:00 PM
Let's see now...

Bob Harras is DC's new EIC

All the DC titles have been restarted with issue 1

We've seen plenty of character deaths

This has now become Marvel's DC and I'm very sad about this. No wonder I stopped buying comics...


Photobucket
JiminNYC
JiminNYC - 6/1/2011, 1:05 PM
In another interview, Geoff Johns said that diversity will be a major theme--but looking at the iconic characters, we have Superman, white, Batman, white, Flash, white, Aquaman, white, Wonder Woman, white, Green Lantern, white, Cyborg, token.

Also, DC has done this before--the revival of superheroes in the late 1950s can be considered a reboot, because aside from the Big Three, superhero comics had been dead for the last 10 years or so. The difference, of course, is that while they revived the concepts of the Flash, the Atom, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, they had new characters rather than using the same old ones. But I'm willing to bet that the guy under that red mask is named Barry Allen, and the brunette in the green mask is named Hal Jordan.

DC might even believe that they're taking a risk by doing this, but the truth is, they're not. Not by a long shot.
FlixMentallo21
FlixMentallo21 - 6/1/2011, 1:08 PM
This is the one time where I'd tell DC my own version of "Uh-uh, honey lay offa my shoes!" a la Carl Perkins.

To me, the purpose of a comic book company other than to make a profit is to constantly create newer and newer characters that appeal to a broad range of ages and across all spectrums. With this move, DC has just confirmed that they and Marvel have abandoned that purpose.
JiminNYC
JiminNYC - 6/1/2011, 1:32 PM
And that's the problem, Dalek.

If DC really wanted to take a risk, be "edgy", they'd give us a Superman who is not from another planet, was not raised in the Midwest, is not connected with journalism (either print or online), and is not named Clark Kent.

Any one of those four would be fine. All four would actually impress me. But if all we're going to get is a One Tree Hill version of Superman, not interested, sorry.
DudeGuy
DudeGuy - 6/1/2011, 1:37 PM
This has to be some sort of Flashpoint aftermath shit. In Flashpoint 2 Flash said something to Thomas Wayne about having to get his speed back and make time normal again before he loses the memory of the world he once lived in. Im sure that this new Issue number 1 thing will ride out for about a year and then Flash or someone will realize something isnt right and has to make everything normal again. Also Cyborg is one of earths greatest heros in Flashpoint so thats the only reason why I can imagine him being in the JL.
No way will DC make this last for good. They will be the first ever comic company to make it to issue 1000 with Action Comics which will be a huge landmark, Superman will have more stories than any character in human history. I hope Im not wrong, but If I am what can you do? Just have to accept it and let it grow on us i guess.
JiminNYC
JiminNYC - 6/1/2011, 1:41 PM
naterator wrote: "FRIENDS DONT LET FRIENDS CHOOSE THIS: (new Superman costume)"



To which I add, is it just me, or does that look like Ultraman's old outfit?
LordHuck
LordHuck - 6/1/2011, 1:55 PM
@Naterator

That 1st SUIT actually looks great…but the photo manip made Cavil look like his has a beer gut.

The 2nd Suit is really just the same old tired crap design with some random seams stitched into it.


All in all I really like al the new costume designs but Superman is my favorite new design.



I can’t wait to buy my DC comics digital subscription that comes along with the roboot. No more boxes and boxes of mylar baged comics sitting in the basement. If I really like a particular story line when its over I get to buy the hardback trade.

Being able to just read my comics on my I-pad, laptop, smart-phone anywhere the instant they come out, sounds amazing.

Not having to worry about being tied down by years of mediocre stories, deaths, rebirths, old retcons stacked on top of old retcons and starting fresh at number 1 for everyone sounds great too.


I pretty much love everything about this entire announcement and cant wait for it to go live.
Jib7z
Jib7z - 6/1/2011, 2:05 PM
Uhm....What the hell is going to happen with Dick Grayson? I've spent a long time now collecting his back issues starting with Nightwing iss #1. Seriously, this might make me go Marvel....no, nevermind. I could never go that far.
ThePhantom1
ThePhantom1 - 6/1/2011, 2:58 PM
read the other day, Supe's is only in 2 titles regularly a month, thinks this will just be another way to slowly edge him out if the lawsuit goe's bad and WB loses Supe's, otherwise it's about time to update his suit, most heroes have changed there uniforms many times over, and I do like the suit without the shorts on the outside, brings him into the 21th century at last,
Ghostt
Ghostt - 6/1/2011, 2:59 PM
Aquaman needs a reboot, but that aint it.

Lol, DC, you'll always have the Dark Knight
Shadowmaster35
Shadowmaster35 - 6/1/2011, 3:40 PM
i would be fine with them knocking off a few characters and not letting them come back to life...ever, but the whole thing doesn't need a reboot. DC needs to stop doing this, and if they are gonna kill off a character and then bring them back, don't give their title to someone else! two batmen, 4 flash people, 4 lanterns from 2814, like 6 diffenent supergirls, common now just kill off the extras or give them original names.
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