Off YOUR Mind: Is There a Need for More 'YEAR ONE' Books in the New 52?

if there was one book titled YEAR ONE and featured a different character and their beginnings every month or that character was a 3-issue arc and the featured a new character after i can see that as a possibility , kinda like DC presents:

please..just...no

Hell to the nah, folk. I think in the case of things like GL, Bats, Swamp Thing, or Animal Man where most of the continuity has stuck in some form or another dating things with a Year One would only server to cause more 5 year continuity rage fits among fans. Sometimes having no answer at all (officially) allows for those who care enough to keep their own personal continuity in tact.

@JonesDeini: There's been so many times this month I was wishing for more of the zero issues. BATMAN 0 just ended. I wanna see more of Dick as Robin with Batman. I wanna see Barry Allen get used to the speedforce. If we're eventually going to get new titles as others get canceled (to maintain the 52), I'm all for someone sorting out what has or hasn't happened.

@G-Man said:

@JonesDeini: There's been so many times this month I was wishing for more of the zero issues. BATMAN 0 just ended. I wanna see more of Dick as Robin with Batman. I wanna see Barry Allen get used to the speedforce. If we're eventually going to get new titles as others get canceled (to maintain the 52), I'm all for someone sorting out what has or hasn't happened.

I don't think it's necessary unless it's going to be incorporated into a future story line. I really didn't think Batman 0 was better then something like year one, but there were things i liked and I know Scott will incorporate things from that issue in future arcs. I can't really say that with other issue 0's.

I'll miss those, I really loved those! One whole story arc always delves more on details and characters than a single issue....

A lot of hissy fits are begging for more reason to blow up over how this doesn't resemble the past. I enjoyed them, but please for all intents and purposes allow the writers to continue to tell "New' stories. I really want to see where everyone goes with the new stories. If by chance a fact here, or a tiny detail leak there about the past comes up, then so be it. Which could be fun from time to time. Otherwise, eyes forward and deliver some mystery, suspense, humor, or drama for me.

I say no because I know I won't be able to stand how they will try to fit all the history into the 5 year period...in turn butchering them all....

Not really a big fan of the covers tbh.

I'm not really for the idea of more YEAR ONE titles. That's just going to create some weird tradition that after every future reboot you'd need another string of YEAR ONEs to re-explain everything.The original YEAR ONEs should stand on their own.

One of the biggest problems in doing past stories is when they start to contradict the time line of the current era book. Without better communication and a plan for the timelines. It will all start to break down. Poeple are already kind of upset that so many things may or may not have happened in their favorite titles, ala Barbara being Oracle. All of her incredible development was swept away, and she's no longer the founder of the team she created. Why would they want to start ticking people off to only confirm that these stories never happened in this rebooted universe?

Don't think I didn't notice the lack of the CATWOMAN #0 in that collage.

@FoxxFireArt said:

I'm not really for the idea of more YEAR ONE titles. That's just going to create some weird tradition that after every future reboot you'd need another string of YEAR ONEs to re-explain everything.The original YEAR ONEs should stand on their own.

One of the biggest problems in doing past stories is when they start to contradict the time line of the current era book. Without better communication and a plan for the timelines. It will all start to break down. Poeple are already kind of upset that so many things may or may not have happened in their favorite titles, ala Barbara being Oracle. All of her incredible development was swept away, and she's no longer the founder of the team she created. Why would they want to start ticking people off to only confirm that these stories never happened in this rebooted universe?

Don't think I didn't notice the lack of the CATWOMAN #0 in that collage.

Well said man

@hyenascar: Yup

@Batnandez said:

@G-Man said:

@JonesDeini: There's been so many times this month I was wishing for more of the zero issues. BATMAN 0 just ended. I wanna see more of Dick as Robin with Batman. I wanna see Barry Allen get used to the speedforce. If we're eventually going to get new titles as others get canceled (to maintain the 52), I'm all for someone sorting out what has or hasn't happened.

I don't think it's necessary unless it's going to be incorporated into a future story line. I really didn't think Batman 0 was better then something like year one, but there were things i liked and I know Scott will incorporate things from that issue in future arcs. I can't really say that with other issue 0's.

I see where both of you are coming from. G-Man something like a Who's Who/Year one or the books they did post Zero Hour would be cool for long time fans like us but I see them causing more/being more trouble than their worth.

It all depends on the character. Some it would be a good Idea some it wouldn't.

I'm totally on-board for more zero-issue style stuff in the future. There's quite a few series where I'd love to get to further explore the past. I like SoA's suggestion of an anthology type series that allows for different creative teams to come in and tell multiple-issue storylines set in the five-year timeline.

Please no. Reason being it would just be more depressing.

Look at that has happened to Batman in the New 52. The facts we have are:

• Tim Drake was never Robin. The whole thing about him proving his worth by tracking down Bruce and helping him heal after Jason is now all kaput.
• Bruce never adopted Dick. The relationship they forged as father and son...gone.
• Batgirl was not Oracle for any meaningful length of time.
• Bruce was not gone for 11 years of training as per year one.
• Bruce's mother is now a Kane, meaning he is related to Batwoman....unnecessary.
• Dick was meant to be a talon.....so lame.
• The stupidity with Joker and Jason.
• Many other stupid retcons.

If they did a new Year One they would have Bruce learning his skills in 5 years to stick to the stupid 5 year thing, which is about equal to Green Arrow learning his skills in six months on smallville.

The less they touch the origin, the less they damage it.

WHERE THE HECK IS WALLY WEST?!? That is what I would like to see answered.

@Dernman said:

It all depends on the character. Some it would be a good Idea some it wouldn't.

This.

I think the main thing is to just get rid of that five year rule. It's making every problematic and really, Batman should be over 30 anyway. If they get rid of the five year rule we can get Cassandra Cain, Oracle, Helena Bertinelli and Stephanie Brown back in continuity. That's the big issue.

We'll get year one's again eventually because DC tend to do them every so often anyway. Instead of a mini series though they'll probably be in a trade.

• While Time Drake was never "Robin", Lobdell specifically stated that he was still Batman's sidekick. So, he technically was a Robin, but he just wasn't called "Robin", he was called Red Robin by Batman
• Barbara was still paralyzed for at least 3 years. She could definitely have been Oracle for that amount of time.
• Actually in Detective Comics #0, it shows Bruce was in training to become Batman as far as 10 years into the past. And that story even takes place when he had obviously already been training for a number of years. Its very possible that he trained for at least 10. And people don't realize that the DCU is not 5 years old now. The new continuity establishes that the Justice League was formed5 years ago. The individual heroes were probably active for at least a few years before that.
• So? Just because its not necessary doesn't mean its a bad thing and it actually kind of makes sense. Wealthy families tend to intermarry. Why would Bruce's parents be exempt from the rule? And its not really a retcon, more so a reveal.
• Again, its not really a retcon, more of a reveal. I could've imagined something along the lines of that being revealed even before New 52. And it was done pretty well in the overall Court of Owls saga, which was just pure awesome.

I would love to see how Riddler first met Batman...

Yes. My favorite characters for Year One titles:

Atom (either one)

John Stewart

Flash of course

Green Arrow

Cyborg

Static (Could start from the Big Bang, and work their way to the eventual relocation to New York City)

That's all I have for now.

Trades shedding light on the characters' new origins in the new continuity. Great idea.

I think, right now DC's best ally is ambiguity. Leave the past as open as possible so older fans can still imagine all their best stories still somehow fit. I can't tell you how many characters I wish i hadn't seen their new pasts so I could still pretend that the really important parts of their pasts still applied.

What makes a person what they are is their past and how they reacted to it. We liked certain characters for who they were and with certain element of their past removed they either have to become another person, or they remain the same in a way that is either hollow or nonsensical. If you leave enough wiggle room fans can insert what they want and with enough denial it can make sense.

more more more

YEAH!! Maybe they should do one somewhere down the road. Like a five Issue Year One or something but the Zero Month was a good move to at least fill us in while the New 52 is still young :))

@MuyJingo: Martha was always a Kane. It was just never fully specified how directly Bruce and Kate were related.

@Zeeguy91

Not quite, what I said is still accurate for the most part.

• Drake may have worked with Batman, but he was not a Robin. Red Robin is not Robin, based on the evidence we have in Teen Titans and Batman 0 issues, drake was never a robin.
• I didn't say Babs was not Oracle, I said she was not Oracle for a notable amount of time. Oracle for say 2 years is not by any means the same.
• In Year One Bruce was away for 11 years. In Batman 0 we see he had been in Gotham 4 years before his most recent return. There is a difference in training intermittently and returning to gotham every so often and being away for a continuous 11 year stretch to train.
• I'll give you that Dick meaning to be a talon is not a retcon per se, but it is terrible. As was the whole night of the owls saga. It changed stuff unnecessarily and for the worse, IMO. I made a forum post somewhere detailing the problems I had with it if you're interested.

The thing that really annoys me is that Bruce never adopted Dick. That just sucks.

@G-Man

Yup, my bad. Not sure what I was thinking off.

@G-Man said:

@MuyJingo: Martha was always a Kane. It was just never fully specified how directly Bruce and Kate were related.

Kathy Kane was his aunt by marriage. Roderick Kane, Kathy's husband was Martha's brother (They had the same parents, mentioned in Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne and Grant Morrisons Batman).

If Kathy is still Bette's aunt in New 52 continuity then she'd be Bruce first cousin through her father. The same would go for Kate Kane.

My initial reaction is "no" but then I really enjoyed Team 7 and am excited for the rest of it. So maybe?

@SoA: I'd like that

@SolthesunGod: Helena is in continuity, Wayne took over Bartinelli's life when she died

@GothamRed said:

@SolthesunGod: Helena is in continuity, Wayne took over Bartinelli's life when she died

Yes....when she died off-panel. That's a respectful way to off a long-standing and popular character. I'm hooking it's a fake out and she just went undercover.

I see such a thing only working once the New 52's more established. It has only been a year so far and thus not complicated enough for the character's histories to really call for Year One events. On top of that, many of the Zero issues kinda filled in many of those gaps like you said in the meantime so I think for at least the foreseeable future that Year One type issues just won't be necessary yet. Give it time I say.

Nope. Just give me good stories.

I don't need crappy origin tales for the sake of having an origin tale.

Not needed, neither was the new 52

I think DC has overdone the Year One concept, but with this New 52, it is absolutely needed. We're seeing backstory with some of the characters, but not enough.

If a Year One book is good and of a character i like then i will buy it. thats my opinion

While I agree with the sentiment, even as someone who tends to shove their fingers in their ears when someone starts talking about continuity because continuity in comics is always super dumb, I think that DC has already shot themselves in the foot enough with the concrete answers they've given so far with what has happened in the past with the New 52 continuity. I think that trying to establish it more, while it wouldn't bother me too much, would definitely start a fresh outcry of people who will suddenly feel like some of their favorite stories somehow "don't count". I think that more ambiguity in the timeline is what they need, not less.

Trinity War should end with DC saying, just kidding, back to the pre flashpoint.

@Shamelesslysupportinaznballers:

I would actually like that if at the end of trinity war even if they don't go back but change the new 52 and reboot it more closely to the old universe with a new status quo I'd be happy. But unfortunately that won't happen DC is pulling a zero hour all over again, it's really bad when a fan like myself who has been reading comics for years knows what they are doing. It means DC are predictable that what they are doing isn't new when they state it is.

Reason why I hated Earth 2 #1Wasn't just how they killed of Superman WW and batman but also the fact that it wasn't new either. in pre 52 reboot Earth 2 Superman batman and WW were dead. again it's NOT NEW it's old. If they let them live in the new Earth 2 with the new heroes on Earth 2 that would have been different. That would have been new.

@G-Man said:

@JonesDeini: There's been so many times this month I was wishing for more of the zero issues. BATMAN 0 just ended. I wanna see more of Dick as Robin with Batman. I wanna see Barry Allen get used to the speedforce. If we're eventually going to get new titles as others get canceled (to maintain the 52), I'm all for someone sorting out what has or hasn't happened.

I'm with ya man!!! That's the first thing I thought about after reading Nightwing #0. I would really like to see a Batman and Robin book with Dick as Robin. It also kind of makes me wonder if I would have preferred it if they had done a full reboot on the Batman titles as well and start everything over at the beginning with Batman just starting.

Id rather see them in graphic novel form rather than new ongoing titles. Kind of like Marvel's Season One graphic novels. I can't afford to add any more ongoing titles to my pull list.

@SoA said:

if there was one book titled YEAR ONE and featured a different character and their beginnings every month or that character was a 3-issue arc and the featured a new character after i can see that as a possibility , kinda like DC presents:

I really like this idea. It could be used to clear up all of the continuity confusions so many fans complain about and would also be awesome.

just get rid of the five year rule please. make it ten or twelve years.

@Shamelesslysupportinaznballers said:

Trinity War should end with DC saying, just kidding, back to the pre flashpoint.

They probably would have done that if the New 52 wasn't a commerical success.

As for the whole Year One idea it's not a bad idea, at least something for DC to tell people what's the new histories are instead of "wait and see"

@SolthesunGod: I really wouldn't but it past the new 52 to just kill her outright. After seeing what they did to Billy Batson and Lilith Clay.

I think you should ask this after all of the zeroes are released. We don't know which titles deserves a year one and which don't need one. I can see the year one book being more like a re-telling of the origin stories in the zero issues or a re-do of origin stories that didn't really make the cut in the zero issues.

Obviously there are things that are still part of continuity pre-New 52. Since Flashpoint ended with Pandora merging all the universes to one again, some events prior to New 52 either still happened or didn't happened. While some events did in fact happen, but were altered. The outcome of those events happened, but how it happened changed.

@SoA said:

if there was one book titled YEAR ONE and featured a different character and their beginnings every month or that character was a 3-issue arc and the featured a new character after i can see that as a possibility , kinda like DC presents:

I agree

As somebody that only jumped into DC with the New 52, specifically Batman, I'll say I don't want new Year One books. I can look for the old ones if I want. But, I do say that we need (new readers and old) a DC book with a detailed description of each character's history, with an explanation of what is still in continuity and what's been crossed out.

Yes! I was just talking about this. After some of the zero issues ended, it gave the wanting of more to the story. I was suggesting that instead of single issues, they should have had full storyarcs. Especially since the New 52 is supposed to be a good jumping on point for new fans and yet they have no idea how some characters became who they are today. I also wouldn't mind some Year Two, Three, Four, and Five books if needed. But the fact is, some of these characters really need updated origin stories for the New 52 for the new fans who don't know or the old fans who need explanation. Especially Nightwing. Sure it explained how he became Robin but nothing about being Nightwing. That bothered me a lot. Not even a mention or a page dedicated to it. Sure, there are some characters that started off in their first issues so they won't need Year One books but one that we would really like to see is Dick's Teen Titans. Even if they have no connection to today's comics. Also, it wasn't fair to leave some characters out like Arsenal, Starfire, John Stewart, and Static.

@MuyJingo said:

• Bruce never adopted Dick. The relationship they forged as father and son...gone.
• Bruce's mother is now a Kane, meaning he is related to Batwoman....unnecessary.

Before the New 52, Dick was only Bruce's ward. Not his adopted son. So nothing here has changed. Only Tim and Cassandra were adopted. And Bruce's mom was a Kane before the New 52. It was explained in Batman RIP.

@Zeeguy91 said:

• Barbara was still paralyzed for at least 3 years. She could definitely have been Oracle for that amount of time.
• Actually in Detective Comics #0, it shows Bruce was in training to become Batman as far as 10 years into the past. And that story even takes place when he had obviously already been training for a number of years. Its very possible that he trained for at least 10. And people don't realize that the DCU is not 5 years old now. The new continuity establishes that the Justice League was formed5 years ago. The individual heroes were probably active for at least a few years before that.

Batgirl #0 showed that Barbara was never Oracle. Bruce was only gone for 4 years, not 10. Batman and Green Lantern were only operating for 1 year before the Justice League formed. Superman was there for only 6 months. Flash was only around for a couple months. Aquaman had never come up from Atlantis besides during his Others missions. And Wonder Woman and Cyborg started their careers during the Justice League formation.

DC has already explained all of this.

So far, the true stand out in the new 52 has been Batman, and Aquaman. The Court of Owls was truly amazing. Aquaman has been a consistantly great title. We can all like Aquaman again.

I love the Teen Titans. Unfortunately, the new 52 title is horrible. Same with Superboy. I am not a Superman fan, but really dig the concept of Superboy. These titles are not doing it for me.

If I had to pick a new title, it would have to be Red Robin, or maybe a Robin's title. I love the interaction between Damian and the rest of the Robins.