DC Infinite Universe Fanfics Presents Challengers Of The Unknown

So, as I talked about in brief before, there is another fanfic out there set in the alternate universe I created for my DC fanfics, and it isn’t written by me. Instead, it’s written by Doctor Sweet, another writer on Fanfiction.net. This story is entitled ‘Challengers of the Unknown’, although I tend to personally just shorten it to Challengers. Now, in the mainstream DC universe, the Challengers of the Unknown were a team created in 1957 by Jack Kirby, as a quartet (later quintet) of characters who dealt with some of the more science fictional/paranormal situations and scenarios of the time, and, to the best of my knowledge, did not have any sort of superpowers of their own. Personally, I find that last bit ironic, considering that elements of Challengers were reused when Kirby teamed with Stan Lee to create the Fantastic Four. Regardless, there have been a few different incarnations and revamps of the group throughout DC Comics’ history, such as the Challengers From Beyond, a group of superheroes that banded together during Countdown To Final Crisis and searched the Multiverse for the Earth 0 version of Ray Palmer, and trust me, the less said about Countdown, the better. And frankly, Linkara’s already gone on at length about Countdown, so I don’t really think there’s much, if anything, that I could add to the subject that would matter in the slightest. And yet, I can’t help but wonder if it in some way inspired this team that Doctor Sweet created, because they’re all pre-existing superheroes. However, they do still deal in the same sort of stuff: Time travel, other dimensions, outer space, and so on.

Doctor Sweet’s Challengers of the Unknown is a bit different in tone and structure from my fanfics, in that each chapter is told from the first person perspectives of all the members of the team, switching between each one at different points in said chapter. It also contains a bit more cheese to it in terms of how stories resolve, but that’s alright with me. Sometimes, a healthy dose of cheese and lightheartedness can be appreciated when DC only ever wants to release dark stories nowadays. But anyway, let’s talk about the team.

Black Lightning

Jefferson Pierce in this story is a physics teacher at Theodore Knight High School (cute reference, Sam), who fights crime as Black Lightning in his spare time. As a Metahuman with control over electricity, he can generate and manipulate bio-electrical fields around his body to protect himself and others, or grant himself limited flight. He can also hurl lightning bolts at foes with varying levels of power. He COULD very well likely generate electrical blasts that could kill people, but as he isn’t a believer in killing his foes, he instead limits them to stun. Among the other heroes on the team, he’s likely the most strategically sound and mentally disciplined, making him the clear field commander for the team.

Doctor Light

Doctor Kimiyo Hoshi is one of STAR Labs’ three Directors, alongside Ray Palmer and T.O. Morrow (which probably won’t be the only time we’ll be hearing references to either one of those two), is one of the world’s leading physicists, and as of late has been reverse-engineering equipment taken from supervillains to create technology for the betterment of mankind. She also appears more than a bit arrogant and shows disapproval of superheroes. However, the truth is that she’s actually a Metahuman, able to manipulate light into blinding flashes or hard light barriers, but kept this knowledge to herself until an emergency forced her to use it to save the others. Kimiyo wanted to be a scientist, desiring to help the world with her knowledge, and feared coming out as a Metahuman and becoming a superhero, meaning she’d be forced to help the world through violence. Plus, she’s more than a little opinionated on superhero costumes and code-names, instantly disliking the name Cyclone gave her, ‘Doctor Light’. Still, if an emergency presents itself, one can always rely on Kimiyo to do what is necessary to protect people from danger.

Ragman

Rory Regan, AKA Ragman, is one of the stranger superheroes EVER. A Jewish man, he runs a pawnshop in Gotham City called Rags’n’Tatters, and it just happens to have a magic suit of rags powered by the souls of evil men and women. If a person is truly, irredeemably evil, the suit can absorb their soul and use them to increase Rory’s strength, speed, and stamina. As someone who isn’t exactly thrilled by the prospect of heroes killing villains, gotta say, I’m not completely kosher with this. However, it’s not like the Tatterdemalion of Justice uses this power willy-nilly, having only used it once in the narrative to stop someone from killing someone else. Also, apparently using corrupted souls to empower himself slowly but surely cleanses said soul of their past sins, and eventually allows them to pass on to Heaven, as opposed to going to Hell as they would’ve otherwise if they’d never gained redemption for themselves. I’m not sure I’m okay with this, but it does give him something unique, and possibly something to have to redeem himself for later on (especially considering who he shares a city with). We’ll just have to see where the writer goes with this.

Cyclone

Referred to by Jefferson as ‘the Nobel Prize winner in the chatterbox category’, Maxine Hunkel is a student in his class, and the granddaughter of Golden Age heroine Red Tornado. As a Metahuman with control over wind, she has adopted the name Cyclone, the Witch of the Winds. Despite being highly intelligent and a good multitasker, she’s also a rather hyperactive teenager, and…I’m just gonna say it right here, she’s my favourite member of the team. lol I dunno, I just find her funny, and more than a little inspiring, as the rookie superhero that can stand alongside more experienced ones and hold her own. She’s also the source of some of the aforementioned cheese, as…well, just read how Chapter 2 ends, you’ll see. But, as I said, that’s fine. And frankly, how can you not like someone who has answered to the nickname ‘Pipi Wrongstocking’? XD

Mister Miracle

Shilo Norman is the world’s greatest escape artist, answering to the name ‘Mister Miracle’. He wears a suit equipped with various gadgets and the like used in his acts, which allegedly sold out Madison Square Garden. He doesn’t consider himself a superhero, believing that he’s out of his depth while working with the Challengers. However, he has great instincts and improvisational skills, and his equipment, which consist of a number of laser torches and the like, actually can be used to assist in a number of situations where the rest of the team’s skills and abilities aren’t enough to overcome whatever’s against them. You may have noticed, however, that there’s no official relation between his equipment in this universe and the technology of New Genesis, nor is Scott Free part of his back-story. There IS a reason for that, but for now, it remains a secret that directly relates to why this is the ‘Infinite Universe’.

Vixen

Mari Jiwe McCabe is a fashion model known across the world. However, she also works as a superheroine and oftentimes ally in crime-fighting to Jefferson known as Vixen. Using an ancient artifact called the Tantu Totem, Vixen is able to access the morphogenic field called The Red to gain the abilities of animals, be it the strength of a bull elephant, the speed of a cheetah, the flight of an eagle, the echolocation of a bat, the weight of a blue whale, or anything else she can think of. She can be a little bit of a hard-ass at times, particularly under stress in emergencies, but she genuinely means well, and will never give up in the fight against crime and evil.

Zauriel

Zauriel is an angel working for The Presence, and don’t bother asking which religion he follows or which deity The Presence is supposed to be, as all angels like him follow a Prime Directive that prevent them from spilling the beans on that matter. Leaving the Silver City for Earth out of boredom (and I’m assuming more than a passing love of pop culture, given how he talks sometimes, lol), he now operates out of an invisible, floating base called the Aerie. While he has wings for flying, he also can ride in the Chariot of Fire, which he can drive throughout all creation, both space and time. He also has a flaming sword for combat, has incredible strength and speed, and can even summon flaming tongues that impart the ability to speak different languages to people.

Anyway, that’s all you need to know about the cast of Challengers. Feel free to give it a read by clicking the image below, and if you have an idea for a story within the DCIU, by all means, leave a comment letting me know what your idea is, and maybe we’ll make it happen. Ja né!

My Own Answer To My DC Multiverse Questionnaire – The Villains

So, as you saw in an earlier post of mine, a few days ago, I sent a number of people on Tumblr a sort of questionnaire, asking what they would do with their own world in the DC Multiverse. I guess with Multiversity being out (and being AWESOME, btw), with the possibility of the return or integration of the previous continuity on the horizon, and with other stories involving multiple universes being told in other books across DC and Marvel, it’s just really hitting me the mass potential that can exist in stories like these. But, just because I sent the questionnaire out in the first place does not mean that I am exempt from giving an answer myself. As I said before, I’ve done stories with my own take on the DCU, but that was more-so becoming my idealized versions of the characters. So, I guess this is how I would do my own world in the DC Universe, who would its heroes be, and who would its biggest villains be (besides alternate Earth villains or singular entity enemies like the Anti-Monitor or Darkseid). And since I did the heroes already, let’s take a look at the villains, starting with arguably the most memorable of all, Batman’s rogues gallery.

Batman’s Rogues Gallery

Of course, I’d want the big names like Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Black Mask around, but I’d also wanna introduce lesser-known villains and tweak some of the more well-known ones. For example, what if Victor Fries was actually an ally of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s, and the man to become Mr. Freeze was none other than Joe Chill, the man who killed Batman’s parents? What if Roxy Rocket, originally conceived for the 90’s animated series, was the one who played cat and mouse with Batman the most in Catwoman‘s absence (we’ll get to her in a bit)? What if Mirror, from Gail Simone’s run on Batgirl, was trying to kill Bruce Wayne for surviving when his parents didn’t? And then there’s the Joker. I think I’d want him to be more akin to Heath Ledger’s Joker in terms of, rather than having his skin bleached and hair turned green by falling into chemicals, he’s just a guy in make-up with no traceable fingerprints or identity. Also, I think I’d give him a bit of an Alex DeLarge Clockwork Orange twist on him in leading the Jokerz, though perhaps toned down a little from that in terms of…*ahem*, ‘Singing In The Rain’. After all, Joker should still keep that part of him that you can laugh at and/or with while still being frightened of him.

Poison Ivy’s Rogues Gallery

For Poison Ivy, who I envision as being akin to Greg Pak’s interpretation of Storm in this world, her villains would be a mix of wealthy tyrants (Veronica Cale and Knightfall in particular come to mind), other elementally-based baddies (Volcana, Killer Frost, and Livewire), and general villains for hire (mercenaries and assassins like Deadshot or Bane). And of course Floronic Man…’Cuz, duh. And, just for the hell of it, SNOWFLAME! XD Otherwise, though, most of what Ivy would do is just help people out and get into conflicts with governments that either distrust her or don’t want her involvement, even though she’s just trying to be of assistance to people that could use it.

Doctor Fate’s Rogues Gallery

For Doctor Fate, since Khalid hasn’t really been around long enough to earn a Rogue’s Gallery, save for Wotan, I’m thinking he would fight a lot of the mystical/paranormal threats to the world. Mordu, Enchantress, and Morgaine le Fey were easy choices, but I also wanted to bring in villains that hadn’t necessarily gotten much in the way of attention. Then I remembered an old enemy of Batman’s, one that even pre-dates Joker, that was vampiric in nature, and hadn’t been seen much in years: The Monk. Surely someone like that could prove a sufficient threat to the newest person to claim the Helm of Nabu.

The Rogues

Yeah, not much of a shocker, huh? Of COURSE it’d be The Rogues. They’re pretty much THE trademark villains of anyone carrying The Flash mantle since just a little while after Barry Allen took up the role. All the really great ones, like Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Golden Glider, Mirror Master, and so on. Also, as a sort of take-that to how he was portrayed in Countdown as unapologetically homophobic, I think I’d want Trickster to be gay (seriously, suck it, Countdown). I’m thinking they could perhaps take a bit more directly antagonistic role with the female Flash, in that she has little time for their quirks and wants to shut them all down. And of course I’d need to include a Reverse Flash, and other villains like Gorilla Grodd.

Green Lantern’s Rogues Gallery

In addition to other ring-bearers like Sinestro, Black Hand, and Atrocitus, I’d like to see some of the classic Green Lantern villains come back. Solomon Grundy is of course a great pick, and a fairly well-known baddie, what with his appearances in the Justice League animated series, Batman: Arkham City, and Injustice: Gods Among Us. Doctor Polaris is another good one, since he’s pretty much Magneto, only in an even dumber costume. Although technically, I’m pretty sure neither one is a rip off of the other, since they both made their debuts a couple of months apart from each other. Not really enough time to cheat off the other person’s test sheets, if you get my drift.

Wonder Woman’s Rogues Gallery

Since Diana would be Queen not only of Themyscira but of Atlantis as well with Mera, I’m thinking her rogues could be a blend of her usual enemies and Aquaman’s. So, on one hand, you’d have the typical Wonder Woman enemies like Cheetah, Circe, and Giganta, and on the other, you’d have people like Ocean Master, Black Manta, and King Shark. Of course, as a result of that, Mera would naturally get in on the fun of taking them down from time to time, because hey, she can’t just stay behind sitting on the throne ALL THE TIME, right? 🙂

Superman’s Rogues Gallery

And finally, we come to Superman’s enemies. Of course, Superman has some of the most powerful opponents, as well some weaker-yet-varied ones, which makes sense. I mean, let’s say you’re Lex Luthor, calling in villains to kill Superman. Sometimes, when you’re evil and you’re trying to bring down a man as powerful as Superman, you gotta just throw random shit at him to see what works and what doesn’t. I think I’d wanna bring Ultra-Humanite back as one of his primary enemies, since he was his arch nemesis before Luthor came around in comics. Others would likely include Mongul, Brainiac, Atomic Skull, Metallo, Parasite, Bizarro, Toyman, and so on. As for his most notable and recognizable enemy, though…well, we’ll get to him in a sec. One thing I’d probably change is that Brainiac in this universe DID cause the destruction of Krypton. Why? Because otherwise, it makes the Kryptonians look REALLY stupid for not being able to tell (save for one or two scientists that they considered babbling madmen) that their frakking PLANET was about to blow. Seriously, why is it that in every single continuity, they NEVER believe it?! They never for one second suspect that the world is about to end…until right before it ends?! At least in the Superman animated series, we were given the semi-believable excuse that Brainiac lied to them about it!

Justice League’s Rogues Gallery

I’m thinking Justice League level threats, bad guys that are so powerful that they require the League’s attention instead of just one member’s, would be ones that are so powerful and dangerous that no single member of the team can take them down. Amazo‘s a good example, since it can replicate the abilities of anyone it interacts with. Mongul’s another good one, as he’s been shown to be able to be a match for even Superman. Starro would of course be a must, as the first villain the Justice League of America ever battled. And I think I’d want to re-establish Doctor Light as a credible threat to the team, minus…erm, certain things they did with him over the years (see Identity Crisis, unless you have a weak stomach). I suppose, depending on the situation, you could see supervillains like Brainiac, Grodd, and Black Hand as being League threats, and of course groups of villains would require the team’s attention…speaking of whom…

The Legion of Doom

The Legion of Doom are typically recognized as being the ultimate group in opposition to the League. As such, I’m thinking that only the most dangerous, powerful, and brilliant villains of the DCU would form its inner circle. Lex Luthor, Riddler, Grodd, Vandal Savage, those kinds of villains that are a tad bit more devious, diabolical, and dangerous than the average rogue. Also, to round it out, I think I’d want people like Enchantress, Floronic Man, and Lion-Mane to be members, as villains with personal vendettas against members of the League.

Task Force X

Task Force X I think would basically be a mixture of Secret Six and Suicide Squad, in terms of some of the people that have been on both teams. Also, I think it’d be a well-balanced team of strength, speed, and varying skill-sets. In that case, I think Catwoman would be a must for the team. Also, I think I’d want to include Yo-Yo. No, not the one King Shark ATE that time, but the one from Flashpoint who, I’m not 100% sure, but I think was supposed to be Harleen Quinzel in the altered timeline. Again, not certain, but would certainly explain a bit. Otherwise, the obvious members include Deathstroke, Deadshot, King Shark, Scandal Savage, and possibly Bane at some point.

Whew! That’s the end of that! Got your own ideas on who would be the heroes and villains of your own world in the DC Multiverse? Lemme know in the comments below, and I shall see y’all next time. Ja né!

How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch? – Everyone’s Rogues Gallery

Yep, that time again, where I told about How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch. This time, we’re talking villains again, but I’m doing something a little different. Basically, I’m gonna be showing who belongs in whose’s roster of villains. Now, I know that these are all pre-established villains that have been paired with superheroes before, but this would basically be me trying to shake things up and keep things fresh. So, by pairing different heroes and villains, or by bringing back older villains that were forgotten in time for one more go, it keeps things new while also experienced. On top that, I’ve found that some heroes have far too many iconic villains to try to count, *COUGH!*Batman*COUGH!*, while some heroes don’t have enough. Also, this doesn’t mean that someone on Batman’s roster would never fight Wonder Woman or anything like that, it’s just who they would generally go up against.

Superman’s Enemies

Superman’s powers make him not only arguably the world’s greatest superhero, but also one of the more adaptive. Naturally, his villains need to either be able to match his strength, be unique enough in their abilities, can combat him on an intellectual level, or have access to one of his weaknesses.
Examples: Atomic Skull, Brainiac, Doomsday, Dyna-Mind, General Zod, Lex Luthor, Magpie, Metallo, Parasite, Solomon Grundy

Batman’s Villains

Batman is the World’s Greatest Detective, has peak physical conditioning, and near endless gadgetry. Naturally, his opponents have to be the type that challenge him from an intellectual angle, or can take advantage of the simple fact that, for all those advantages, he’s still a human with no super-powers. Also, given his own issues with vengeance vs justice, his foes might likely have similar problems.
Examples: Bane, Clayface, The Joker, Killer Croc, The Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze, The Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul, The Riddler, Two-Face, Victor Zsasz

Wonder Woman’s Villains

Wonder Woman’s mission as an ambassador of her people can be considered as trying to show the world of man it can be a world of compassion, equality, and peace. So, it only makes sense that her enemies would be the types of individuals that are in direct contrast to that vision: Villains that seek to oppress, create chaos, or outright destroy. Also, Wonder Woman is no stranger to magical or Godly villains, so they would fit in as well.
Examples: Ares, Captain Nazi, Cheetah, Circe, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Poison Ivy, Trickster (New 52 Apokolips version), Veronica Cale

Cyborg’s Villains

Cyborg’s advanced tech, enhanced strength, and history with the Titans makes his choices relatively simple: The bulkier opponents of the Titans in the past, villains that can circumvent his circuitry, or other technologically advanced individuals.
Examples: Amazo, Cinderblock, Deathstroke, KGBeast, Overload, Plasmus, Prometheus, T.O. Marrow

The Flash’s Villains

As I mentioned before, I would make Wally West the Blue Lantern Flash, so his opponents would occasionally be evil Lanterns out to snuff out the Blue Light of Hope. Still, that doesn’t mean his classic enemies, The Rogues, can’t pop in from time to time. 🙂
Examples: Bleez, Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Magenta, Mirror Master, Reverse Flash, Pied Piper, The Top

Green Lantern’s Villains

Naturally, Green Lantern would face other Lanterns, like the Sinestro Corps, or the Red Lantern Corps, but what about some of the classic GL foes from before the various Lantern Corps started going at it? Don’t really see many of those much anymore, huh? I think I’d wanna bring some of ’em back, but with modern takes on them to make ’em more threatening.
Examples: Atrocitus, Hector Hammond, Javelin, Krona, Larfleeze, Major Force, Puppeteer, Sinestro, Weather Wizard

Justice League’s Villains

Since the Justice League of America is made up of the greatest heroes in the world, the villains to oppose them have to either be galactic threats, foes that a single hero would need aid in defeating, or teams of villains that require an equal and opposite team of heroes to beat.
Examples: Black Hand, The Crime Syndicate, Darkseid, The Legion of Doom, Neron, Paragon, Starro the Conqueror, The White Martians

Batgirl’s Villains

As a heroine inspired by Batman and occasionally trying to earn his trust, it’s only fitting that Batgirl’s foes would be villains inspired by other villains, or just some of the villains he doesn’t always have time for. Plus, y’know, some of his female rogues, since…Okay, I know I wrote Batman kicking the new Copperhead in the face, but I wasn’t exactly all that comfortable doing it, know what I mean?
Examples: Calculator, Condiment King, Harley Quinn, Matilda, Roxy Rocket, Twiddledum and Twiddledee, The Ventriloquist (New 52 version), The White Rabbit

Teen Titans‘ Villains

Like I noted before, the Teen Titans would be going back to their roots as a response team to distress calls from teenagers, so a lot of their villains would be the types that try to corrupt the youths of the world. Also, plenty of their enemies would be enemies based out of Jump City, or foes that even the Justice League need the extra help taking on.
Examples: Billy Numerous, Doctor Light, The Fearsome Five, Goth, Harvest, The H.I.V.E., Johnny Rancid, Mister Twister, Terra

Batwoman’s Villains

Batwoman operates out of Gotham City, and is usually (in my canon, anyway) investigating the ties between secret organizations and trying to bring down mob bosses. As such, her enemies are mostly mobsters, criminal syndicates, and hired guns, usually from around Gotham.
Examples: Alice, Black Mask, Deadshot, Firefly, The Great White Shark, Intergang, The Penguin, The Religion of Crime, Rupert Thorne. The Secret Society

…Okay, I think my tags are getting a bit insanely high, so I’m gonna hafta stop there. lol Lemme know what you think, if there’s anyone I should switch around, and I’ll see ya next time! Ja né!

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The Future of the Justice Leagues? What I’d Do With The Teams Following Forever Evil (WARNING – SPOILERS FOR TRINITY WAR)

So it’s been a while since I talked about what I’d do with the New 52 given certain situations, but this one just kinda hit me now. As most of us know, following Trinity War, there’ll be a massive event called Forever Evil. According to solicits for DC Comics in September and October, the Trinity War will end with the “deaths” of the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark, along with nearly all of their members, with the Secret Society of Evil going on a rampage and taking over the world in the absence of the world’s greatest heroes. Now of course, we can kinda gather that this’ll likely turn out to be a ruse of some sort by the Justice Leagues to take down the villains all at once, or that they’re simply put out of commission temporarily and find a way to return to action. Still, it makes one wonder what exactly will be the shape of these three teams following the event.

My personal vote, if it had any meaning whatsoever? I’d say have the Leagues come together to be three distinct teams of a single Justice League. They would continue working as they have been, with the Justice League operating as the #1 response team to the biggest threats to the world, the JLA as the government controlled team, and the JLD as the response team to supernatural threats, but they would also be actively assisting each other wherever possible. Heck, they could even change-up certain members, even add a couple to their ranks, then form a sort of counsel of one or two members from each team to form a leadership role for the group on a whole.

So who would I move where? Well, for starters, I think I’d move Zatanna back to the JLD for the purpose of being its team leader (because I can’t frakking stand Constantine), possibly bring Element Woman with her, bring Amethyst back to the team, and if it turns out that Doctor Light is still alive, I’d move him there too. Also, if he isn’t already, I’d make Swamp Thing a full member. I’d probably swap Cyborg and Martian Manhunter between the teams, as well as Firestorm and The Atom (remember, The Atom is a spy from the JLA right now). Finally, provided she can get away from the DOA, I’d put Batwoman on the JLA, maybe bringing along Goldrush, and I’d finally bring back Hal Jordan to the Justice League, have Shazam stay on the team, and possibly bring Vixen to the team.

I swear to God, DC, if you kill Dick Grayson…

So, with all that said, the teams would look like this…

Justice League

Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Hal Jordan, The Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, The Atom, Shazam, and Vixen

Justice League of America

Steve Trevor, Green Arrow, Katana, Hawkman, Catwoman, Vibe, Simon Baz, Cyborg, Stargirl, Firestorm, and Goldrush

Justice League Dark

Zatanna, Constantine, Frankenstein, Deadman, Madame Xanadu, Swamp Thing, Doctor Light, Element Woman, and Amethyst

…Anyway, that’s just my thoughts. Lemme know what you think below, and I will see y’all next time. Ja né!

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My 300th Blog Post! + Some of the Better Points of the New 52

Hey guys! Well, I thought I’d talk a little about IT’S MY 300th BLOG ENTRY!!!

Ahh, 300 entries in a little over 2 years on a blog that has brought new meaning to my life…

…Yeah, apparently that new meaning is to torture myself. But today, I feel like being a bit more positive minded, taking a far more optimistic stance on something I’ve ragged on a lot these days: The New 52. A lot of DC fans are STILL pissed off about the reboot that happened two years ago, myself included a lot of times. Decades of continuity gone in a flash(point), characters shoved aside, stories becoming unnecessarily darker in some cases, and almost everything to do with Wonder Woman. And with all of that going on, it’s hard to remember that a lot of good has come out of the New 52 as well, something that occurred to me on Twitter last night while talking to Spoony. So today, I’d like to talk about some of the finer points of the New 52, in no particular order or planned number.

#1 – The Reintroduction of Vibe

Let’s face it, sometimes a character gets introduced who kinda bombs with the audience. However, the New 52 has presented a unique situation where these characters get another shot with a whole new audience and have their personas freshened up a bit to work better, and in no other case is this truer than with Vibe. Let’s be honest, when we all found out that Vibe was on the JLA, we were in horror of what was to come. When we found out Vibe was getting his own series, we wanted to call Arkham Asylum and have Geoff Johns committed. But, looking at how Vibe has turned out, he’s actually one of the better characters in JLA, and while his solo series isn’t my particular cup of tea, I will say that the quality of the stories is still good. So yeah, I’m considering Vibe’s reintroduction a successful one.

#2 – The Court of Owls Storyarc

I kinda wanna put an asterisk over this one since I’m not sure that stuff like Court of Owls required the relaunch, or if Snyder had planned it all along regardless. Either way, though, this was easily the best frigging story of the early days of the New 52, and I still recommend it and Scott Snyder‘s Batman to anyone who wants a great story within the New 52. Likewise, all the really cool stuff that’s come as a result of this story, like James Tynion IV’s Talon, can be added to this list as well.

#3 – The Revamped Alan Scott and Jay Garrick

I know old school fans are gonna wanna kill me for saying this, but I gotta throw this out: I really like the revamped origins for Alan Scott and Jay Garrick, to the point where I actually prefer them to their Golden Age counterparts. Jay Garrick is FAR less selfish than he was originally, and I really like the method by which he becomes The Flash. Alan Scott can at times be kind of a jerk, but it’s usually done in ways that kinda make sense, and frankly, having him actually be on the train when it explodes and losing someone he loves in the process makes the situation far more personal for him, and you feel sadder for him too. James Robinson has been doing an excellent job writing these Golden Age heroes in a present day world, and while I won’t say it’s perfect (there have been small hiccups along the way), it’s still about as good as you can expect, and really, that’s all I can realistically ask for here.

Now, the last three on this list are kind of a trilogy, so I apologize if this gets repetitive really quickly. Basically, it’s three event comics that occurred that are no longer in canon with DC’s universe, and frankly, I’m kinda happy about that. If you need further examples of why, I have four words for you: Atop The Fourth Wall. They were all covered on that show, and better than I possibly could, and pretty much spell out every single reason why these event comics were TERRIBLE. With that said, let’s move on…

#4 – Countdown to Final Crisis NEVER HAPPENED

Yeah, sorry to disappoint, but no matter how bad the New 52 gets, at least we can say this with absolute certainty: COUNTDOWN NEVER HAPPENED. Y’know, that year-long event comic that only continuously sucked more and more the further it went along? Yeah, never happened. Seriously, you know an event comic is bad when the creators of it basically try to pretend that it never happened, and that was BEFORE they hit the universal reset button. And while we’re on the subject…

#5 – Identity Crisis NEVER HAPPENED

Yeah, I know, a lot of people really liked Identity Crisis, and admittedly there IS a good story in there…if you can dig past all the bullshit. I’m sorry, but frankly, I’m happy that in this new universe, Tim Drake‘s parents are alive, the Justice League never wiped Batman’s mind, and Doctor Light is NOT a psycho rapist! Although while we’re on the subject, I WILL say that this is a bizarre fucking universe in that Doctor Light is a good guy and a family man, and Superman is the man who apparently murdered him? By the way, I say apparently since it’s clear it wasn’t his fault, and I’m not 100% sold that Light’s really dead. But anyway, last on the list of event comics I’m glad never happened…

#6 – Cry For Justice NEVER HAPPENED

Okay, while I’m not exactly thrilled that Lian Harper doesn’t exist in this universe, I take comfort in knowing she can eventually be reborn within it and then NOT be horrifically murdered like she was in Cry For Justice! Also, to be perfectly fair, this book sucked plenty bad before and after the death scene, although it WAS the cherry on top. I would love to one day have a sit-down talk with James Robinson and just ask him what the thought process was with this book, especially since I feel like a lot of fans would just yell and scream at him for what happened. I mean, Robinson is NOT a bad writer, but this book was wretched, and I would just like to know what went wrong.

Anyway, that’s all from me. Leave your comments below, and hey, if there’s anything you really like about the reboot, lemme know. Ja né!

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