New Books DC Could Do In The Context Of The New 52 RIGHT NOW

So, you know how yesterday, I talked about how many different female characters DC could have starring in books right now? Well, in hindsight, there’s a lot of characters, male and female, that could use their own books, and just a whole whack of books that DC COULD be doing right now, without changing much about the current direction of The New 52 (I WOULD change it to at least be less bleak and grim, but whatever). And hell, they really SHOULD do this, since, as has been well established by now, The New 52 is no longer new, nor does it have 52 books, hence they could use some brand new books to get it back up to 52 and freshen things up at the same time. And before anyone says that the name refers to the new state of the Multiverse, I call bullshit, since they only started putting out books involving more worlds than just the primary one eight months into said relaunch, and only began showing the full changes to the Multiverse this past year. But yeah, new books. Here’s just a few that come to mind.

Red Robin

Believe it or not, but I really DO hate to sound like a broken record. With that said, I still don’t get why Red Robin doesn’t have his own book, when Tim Drake was the first Robin to get his own solo series, which lasted for quite some time. Now, as an alternative to giving him his own book, you could otherwise give him Detective Comics (because Batman has enough books that he’s currently starring in, and Detective Comics could use a new protagonist to be honest), or even just a back-up in Detective Comics.

Justice League of Amazons

Does anybody else remember the story where the JLA was split up by alien invaders erasing all knowledge of the group, leading to the individual members creating eight or so different Justice Leagues? Well, one of the teams was called the Justice League of Amazons. How would I do that? Basically, I’d have all the female ex-Justice Leaguers from the various League teams in The New 52 banding together. So, characters like Vixen, Fire and Ice (assuming Fire came out of her coma, I have no idea), Katana, and Black Orchid, while also adding Batgirl (because of course we gotta have a Bat on the team, lol), and taking the time to finally bring back Troia, since apparently that woman in Future’s End is NOT Donna Troy.

Spoiler

This one actually has interesting timing, since apparently the Smallville books are coming to an end, meaning Bryan Q. Miller could write. I’m just gonna say this right now, and I sincerely hope that someone in charge of DC is listening: You do a Stephanie Brown book with Bryan Q. Miller as the writer, and just let him do a good book without much in the way of interference, I will HAPPILY buy that book. Just let him do his thing, which is showing Steph do her thing.

Cyborg

I still maintain that having Cyborg be the only member of The New 52’s magnificent seven (or the Super Seven, as Barry Allen claims) who doesn’t have his own book is just dumb. Granted, it’s made for some great Cyborg-centric stories in Justice League (yeah, believe it or not, I really like some of the stuff they do with Cyborg in that book), but I just feel that he could have his own book. Hell, maybe even follow up on his arc in Forever Evil and call it ‘Cyborg and the Metal Men’.

Poison Ivy

…No, really, I DO hate to be a broken record. With Poison Ivy, I would follow up on Batgirl Annual #2, with Ivy trying to get through her issues. Maybe they could do something neat where she’s staying in Arkham for help, but she also sneaks out at night to help people. Also, while I would hesitate to say I wanna see a crossover with Batgirl but would still understand it and probably enjoy it nonetheless, NO CROSSOVERS with Harley. Seriously, the Harley Quinn book has made Ivy look SO bad. Now, I know that when this book first came out, I was praising the crap outta it, but honestly, after about a year, while I don’t necessarily mind Harley’s solo antics, the stuff they do with Ivy is just plain WRONG, and this whole thing with the drug-scented book is a BAD idea, and I heard rumours of some comments made by the creators that were somewhat controversial, but I don’t really wanna go there.

More Young Justice Titles

I don’t know if anyone even remembers this point anymore, but the books in The New 52 are divided into ‘families’: Justice League, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Young Justice, The Edge, and The Dark. Now, I could go on a long-winded rant about how Wonder Woman and Aquaman don’t have their own family books, but I won’t just yet. Instead, let’s look at the fact that there is only ONE book in the Young Justice family, and that’s Teen Titans. Let’s look at some of the younger heroes that are established right now in The New 52 alone (admittedly some of whom have appeared in Future’s End): Skitter, Vibe, Kid Flash (both of them), Solstice, Blue Beetle, Static Shock, Bluebird, Emiko, Thunder and Lightning, Hawk and Dove, Jesse Chambers, Cassandra Cain, Mary Marvel, Lagoon Boy, Firestorm, and Tanya Spears, AKA the new Power Girl (which, with her being a thing, means that Kara Zor-L should really be Power Woman now). Now, granted, some of these characters were given their own books that got cancelled, some of which kinda deserved it (looking at you, Hawk and Dove), but there’s also more than enough there that could get their own teams, or at least join up with the Titans. Actually, I keep hearing the new Power Girl might be joining up with the Titans in the future, which honestly, I would LOVE if it happened. 🙂 But yeah, needs to be new Young Justice books.

President Superman

I’m very glad that this character is highlighted rather prominently in The Multiversity, but I would LOVE to see a solo book about President Superman, and maybe even the whole world. I just love the concept…also, I would love to see the book just because I would love to see the explanation for how NO ONE knows that President Calvin Ellis is Superman. Seriously, how can NO ONE figure that out?! It’s not even a Clark Kent thing, where he wears glasses, slouches, or acts differently from how he does as Superman! Hell, his personality as both is rather similar, in that he is a compassionate yet authoritative figure! And I can understand why no one would think that Clark Kent is Superman, but who WOULDN’T suspect that the Man of Steel is someone big and important?! I dunno, it just bugs me. But otherwise, I love the concept of the character, and would love to see him get an ongoing.

Anyway, I think that’s enough to prove my point. Lemme know what books you would like to see added to The New 52, or just new books DC could do in general. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Misses of the DCAU

Y’know, I really LOVE the DC Animated Universe, most off all being Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. It just feels it has some of the all-time best interpretations of certain characters from DC Comics. That said, not EVERYTHING they did was golden. And that’s not a check against it, either. It’s perfectly normal and understandable. They just kinda bug me a little. So I thought I’d go ahead and list 5 of the ones that bug me most. Just remember, this is not meant to diminish anyone’s thoughts on the DCAU.

#1 – Galatea

While I like the fact that they introduced a villain specifically for Supergirl, I don’t particularly like the one they went with. Not that there’s much wrong with Galatea from a character standpoint, but I don’t like that they basically took Power Girl, gave her the same backstory as Superboy (except that she’s Supergirl’s clone instead of Superman’s), and then made her unrepentantly evil.

#2 – Batman and Batgirl As A Couple

…Excuse me, I just had to vomit, as I do every time I think of these two as a couple. I’m sorry, but Batman and Batgirl should NEVER be romantic with each other. EVER. It’s icky as all hell. I can see a one way attraction from Babs for a short-term plot, but never as a couple, if for no other reason than HOW MUCH OLDER IS HE THAN HER, ANYWAY??? XP

#3 – TINO (Tim In Name Only)

Again, not a knock against the character, but I’m not sure why he’s named Tim Drake. He just feels WAY more like Jason Todd to me. Think about it: Second Robin, parents dead, kind of a snarky bastard, lack of control over his anger, violent/tragic end to his career as Robin due to the Joker, etc. I know, he has SOME detective and computer skills, but I don’t think it’s enough to justify calling him Tim Drake. Just my opinion.

#4 – The Teen Titans Who Never Were

I think there MAY have been a plan to involve the Titans in the DCAU, but the fact that they never showed up despite being mentioned twice in Static Shock is very odd to me. While I’ve never seen the original pilot for the Justice League animated series, which showed Robin, Impulse, and a female Cyborg with the League, I’m going to assume that they, Static Shock, Beast Boy (who was referenced once), Speedy (who cameod in JLU), and possibly Supergirl and a few other teenage superheroes would’ve formed the Titans in the DCAU. But unfortunately, it never came to be, thus resulting in it sadly becoming a major miss for the DCAU. I hear they might be looking to bring back the DCAU in a couple of years, and with any luck they might do this then…and hopefully, this next thing too…

#5 – Not Going Through With The Birds Of Prey

Okay, lemme explain this one: There was an episode of JLU entitled Double Date that was written by Gail Simone that featured Black Canary and Huntress together on a mission. Now the original script called for Barbara Gordon getting hurt and becoming Oracle, at which point she forms the two into the Birds of Prey. However, because of issues involving the rights to animate Batgirl (see “Bat-embargo”), this idea got vetoed in it instead became about Huntress and The Question going after Steven Mandragora and clashing with Green Arrow and Black Canary. It feels like they really missed out on a great opportunity here. I know Huntress and Black Canary got together for missions later on, but it woulda been even better with Barbara in the mix as well. Like I said, I’d like to see Birds of Prey done when they bring back the DCAU, possibly see them going against the Gotham City Sirens.

So yeah, those are the 5 misses that bug me most. But even with them, the DC Animated Universe was awesome, and I can’t wait for them to bring it back someday, and I will see you all when that marvellous day comes. Ja né!