Hello there friends and fellow comic book readers. This article is my contribution to the recent shakeup over at DC comics and in the coming months the entire universe that we know will be altered. As we all know and have seen with the announcements that DC comics is doing a major relaunch of most of their well-known characters, ending some fan favorites, and bringing new ones into the universe. I know it’s late but when I wanted to do this article, I wanted to let it all settle in rather than just go into it without thinking or being too rash on it. Now when it comes to comics, I know enough to hold a conversation and one such as this has sparked major debate between fans. Some are openly protesting at SDCC this week, while others are for the change, and the other half don’t really mind since DC tends to do something like this then fix it up after learning mistakes. So this article of mine will be looking at all sides, what will make this new relaunch a good or bad thing. I will begin with the pros then the cons and what I like to see them learn from this if it prospers or fails.
First the pros. The biggest aspect that DC is looking into this relaunch is to bring in new readers, a thing many comic companies seem to have a hard time to get. With the current state of the world, the economy, and the culture we live in, comic companies have a hard time appealing to modern sensibilities when their characters have been in a world that doesn’t seem real to them. Now I know that comic book worlds are supposed to be fantastical and even a bit over the top, it’s the sheer amount of a disconnect of the current timeline has done to this world, over saturating it with things that make the world less realistic and more barbaric. The current DC timeline has seen death and tragedy en mass, the events of Blackest Night and Brightest Day were never truly resolved since Flashpoint has taken over, Superman’s GROUNDED arc has become a dud, save for the Krypto issue, Wonder Woman’s Odyssey arc as well failed to capture fans enthusiasm, theses were runs that were to help bring people in that knew the characters but they sadly didn’t capture the grandeur of these two characters. With the relaunch coming we have seen some talented writers and artists bringing in fresher ideas to these characters, I for one am curious and excited to see how Brian Azzarello brings his dark and somewhat gritty style to Wonder Woman, adding to the fact that Mr. Azzarello is not known for doing costumed heroes other than Batman so whatever he plans on doing with Wonder Woman is going to be most interesting.
The second aspect to the relaunch is the “clean slate” idea. Simply put, after years of continuity alterations and major shifts in the balance, DC is wiping the slate clean of all that build up and knowledge that non fans would have to learn or comprehend to get what’s going on. Having the entire universe being showed in a new light grants many people old and new a chance to see a new perspective of these characters. However it is pointed out that certain continuities are staying in place but they are for only certain new titles that will obviously stand out from the others. Some of the new titles will be taking place after Brightest Day and some taking place earlier in the timeline since Hal Jordan is a Green Lantern in the upcoming Justice League while Sinestro is headlining the new Green Lantern series which will be taking place after the current War of the Green Lanterns. This new universe coming in September is still being shaped and molded so how well the slates have been cleaned are still to be seen until the first batch of comics come out.
The third aspect is the focus of more team books. This is usually an aspect that DC hasn’t quite gotten down. A friend of mine discussed that DC heroes tend to work on their own rather than a team whereas Marvel as worked on that in the early days and have embraced the fact that heroes should team up when the time comes and to unite to fight the greatest threats imagined. I know what you are all saying, really, DC has lots of team books (Justice League, JSA, Teen Titans, THUNDER Agents, Secret Six, Titans and Birds of Prey), this may be true but I don’t count the Green Lantern Corps title as a team book since they all have the same power, a team is about having different powered beings attached to it. The relaunch has Justice League, Justice League International, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans, Suicide Squad, Legion of Superheroes, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Stormwatch, Legion lost, Sgt. Rock and the Men of War, Black Hawks, Birds of Prey, and Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE. This is quite a huge jump from the original roster they have. I like the idea of having heroes more united rather than being separate and loners, so hopefully they will keep this trend in mind in the future of this universe
The final aspect is giving fan favorites a second chance. Now out of all the 52 titles coming, I’m excited to see characters that many enjoy finally getting titles once more. The best and most deserving of the relaunch is Jaime Reyes aka the Blue Beetle. He had a great run in before Final Crisis but was sadly canceled due to low sales, which seems to be a trend, low sales equals canceled book. That’s another topic for later. Also another character returning is Animal Man, a character I haven’t heard of but supposedly has a nice sized fan base. Another which I will be reading is Swamp Thing, a character that returned in the events of Brightest Day and has since not made much commotion due to Flashpoint taking over the current timeline. The resurgence of these characters will hopefully keep them in this universe much longer.
Now that the pros for the new DCU are done and out of the way. It’s time for the cons of this new universe, starting with the biggest con of all, the cancellation of fan favorites. This to me is the biggest offense that DC has done to its fans. There are titles they have currently running and they are pulling the plug on in August. The titles that I currently read that are leaving us are Power Girl, Zatanna, and Xombi. Other well-known titles that are leaving are THUNDER Agents, Secret Six, and Titans. It’s unfair to fans that have been reading these characters since their #1 issue to be seeing them not continue on for greater things. The current title of Power Girl has her now having an official secret identity and trying to reestablish herself as a businesswoman, but we will not see how that will go since her arc is ending and apparently she is being removed from the continuity all together. Zatanna is also getting the cut treatment. Her current arc has started but I doubt we will see it have any closure. Another great title that I’m reading is Xombi, a really great character not in just in terms of artwork but the story is just so much fun, and it pains me to see it only get 6 issues…6 ISSUES!!!!! I know Zatanna and Xombi will have a place in the Justice League Dark title, but they are characters worthy of having books devoted to them.
Another con I have to bring into attention is the overdosing of the BAT. Out of all the new relaunches we have seen, a good chunk of them are devoted to Batman. Not only does his character have 4 books devoted to him: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, and Batman: the Dark Knight. Add in also Batwing, Catwoman, Batwoman, Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Red Hood and the Outlaws, and Nightwing, that’s 12 books devoted to Batman and his Bat family. Now Superman and Green Lantern have a far share but they are more condensed. I get it, people love the Batman universe and his amazing cast of characters, but this has taken a huge chunk of other titles that deserved to be among the new universe.
The third con I bring up is the universe combined too much too quickly. This is not too big of a con for me since I don’t know much of the Vertigo and Wildstorm universes that DC owns but bringing them into this universe which is considered by Tom Beveroot to be an Optimistic universe brings into question whether DC wants to keep that image nowadays. I understand the need for dark and gritty stories but trying to mix that into a world with some iconic characters like the DC universe has will test them if they can pull this off or will it come back in their face.
The last con is a tough one since I’m sure many would debate this. The last con that I think to this new DCU is that DC is trying to “MARVEL”-ize these characters. Now I openly admit that I’m a Marvel fan primarily since I like the characters and stories much better yet I do enjoy the world of DC in a close second. Now I see the characters of DC as the iconic and high standards of heroism, they are the pillars and foundation for super heroes, the ones who sacrifice much for the safety and prosperity of society. Marvel is seen as the heroes with flaws, but DC characters aren’t supposed to have them, they are seen to be perfect, nothing wrong with them physically and mentally. They are never bending or compromising in their ideals and beliefs. Marvel believes in the flawed hero, that no one is supposed to be perfect and that even heroes can have faults. If DC is truly trying to create the “Heroes with flaws” for me will not work since they aren’t flawed, to me they are can’t pull it off, the iconic characters they have are just too good to be flawed.
So with the pros and cons looked at, what would I like to see with this new universe. I would like to see them bring back titles that need to be continued, I think canceling and replacing titles for others will show them that it won’t work every time. I like to see a huge event that won’t alter the universe like Flashpoint, but something to show just how big and epic they can be when they want to. I want to see potentially characters that were removed from this universe, make a triumphant return. Two words: NEW GODS. I’m pretty sure that out of the 52, a good chunk will stay while others will sadly be cancelled if they do not sell well.
The overall success or failure to this new universe falls primarily on whether or not DC can live up this new and slightly controversial undertaking by changing it all up, will this alienate the fan base into split factions? Will this show that a powerhouse like DC has to take from another company to show it can be like them rather than staying to its roots. All the answers will be given to us in a couple of months, I for one am curious and will be reading a fair amount of these new titles. That’s all from me, ComicCritic87 out, peace………