52 Bests and Worsts of the New 52
This list tries to summarize my opinions on the first three years of the New 52.
List items
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Best Series in first six months - First Place
Geoff Johns' Aquaman probably makes the best case for the need for the New 52. Despite a couple of long-running series, NO ONE took Aquaman seriously. Although he's basically the same character as Namor, the general public's opinion of Aquaman seemed to be that we was a weak, useless and ultimately silly character.
Johns weaved humor, action and human relatability into the character and made Aquaman one of DC's best selling titles. He took classic elements of the character and remolded them for modern times (e.g. Vulko, Topo), while introducing an entirely new mythology. What pushes this title to the top, however, is the self-referential humor of people ragging on Aquaman. Sometimes Aquaman will actually stop what he's doing to respond to people and try to dispel common misconceptions about himself. The "I don't talk to fish" conversation comes to mind...
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Best Series in first six months - Second Place
Okay, so I like Geoff Johns, sue me...
The first arc of Justice League was beautifully drawn, packed with Easter Eggs and served as a good introduction to the rebooted universe. Bringing in Darkseid in the very beginning was a good move in my opinion and laid the groundwork for a lot of future stories.
Runners up: Batman, Action Comics
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Worst Series in first six months - First Place
There were probably series that I enjoyed less, but they were in genres or about characters that I don't usually enjoy. I find Michael Holt to be a very interesting character, but I think his solo series debut failed on many levels.
My biggest complaint about the book is the amount of techno-babble that bogs down the story. Sure, he's the third smartest man on Earth, but that doesn't mean the reader needs to be bored or confused to read his adventures. Other smart characters have found a way to keep the book interesting (e.g. Batman, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic), but this book was not able to do so before it was canceled.
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Worst Series in first six months - Second Place
I like George Perez as both a writer and an artist. I like Superman as a character. I did not like this book. The story moved very slowly and when there was action, it still wasn't that interesting...
Runner up: Static Shock
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Best Series overall in first 3 years - First Place
Sure, I picked other series for best in the first 6 months. However, those and most other series varied in quality from story arc to story arc. Many books had creator changes or other shifts in story that detracted from the overall quality of the book. In my opinion, Batman has been the most consistently awesome book in the New 52.
Snyder and Capullo have delivered one great story after the next, drawing on obscure bits from Batman's 75 year history (e.g. Thomas Wayne Jr., Joker/Red Hood connection, Dr. Death, etc.), presenting new spins on established characters (e.g. Joker, Riddler) and creating their own mythology (e.g. Court of Owls).
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Best Series overall in first 3 years - Second Place
Johns' Green Lantern was doing well before the New 52 reboot, and this series continued that success. Focusing on other Lanterns like Sinestro and Simon Baz shook things up and kept it interesting. I wasn't a huge fan of the Third Army and First Lantern stories, but the huge conclusion to Johns' Lantern run in issue 20 made it all worth it.
Like most folks, I was wary of someone else taking the reins in issue 21, but was blown away by the result. I'm finding Venditti's Lantern immensely enjoyable. Bringing in fresh Lanterns, bringing back classic GLs from the olden days and taking some of the focus away from the 7 Corps to other threats in the universe are all good things.
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Worst Series overall in first 3 years - First Place
(Keep in mind this is entirely subjective and based only on my opinion). I have enjoyed some of Levtiz's work in the past, but this is definitely not his best. The characters lack any real complexity and in Power Girl's case are almost the direct opposite of their previous characterizations. There aren't a lot of familiar elements to satisfy old readers. There isn't anything particularly interesting going on to interest new readers. From what I can see, the sales aren't terrific. Now, they aren't even on Earth 1 anymore and have essentially merged with Earth 2's book so the whole reason behind the book is gone... Can we just cancel this one already?
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Worst Series overall in first 3 years - Second Place
In theory, the concept for this book is a good one, but taking a Wildstorm book and trying to make it fit in a very different universe seemed to cause some problems. The team roster changed a little too often, with characters turning evil or just deciding to leave on a regular basis. Midnighter and Apollo's romance is just sort of leapt into, without giving new readers any background, build-up or reason to care. The final straw is the reboot that happens in issue 19. Not just a roster change or the passing of a mantle (e.g. Batwing), but an actual REBOOT. You just rebooted the entire universe less than two years ago, and you're already resorting to reboots to try to fix a title that's not working? That doesn't bode well...
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Best Series introduced after First Wave - First Place
I had mixed feelings about this book when it was first announced. I wanted to see the Earth 2 characters again, but I was afraid they would lose some of their charm and appeal when rebooted as youngsters. Robinson did an excellent job introducing the book, including tons of Easter Eggs for Golden Age experts and making the characters just different enough from the Earth 1 characters to make them interesting.
Tom Taylor picked up the reins and did an excellent job. He didn't quite have Robinson's depth of Golden Age knowledge, but he brought the same fresh perspective, humor and epic battles that made him a smash hit on Injustice. Even though its a similar story as Injustice (Superman goes crazy), they are different enough to both be interesting.
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Best Series introduced after First Wave - Second Place
I have only read 10 issues of this series, so this may be a little premature, but this series is definitely off to a good start. The major thing it has going for it is that it is FUN! Sure, I love dark and gritty crusaders and epic battles for the fate of the universe, but do I really need them in 52 different books? Join Harley as she looks for a job, makes new friends and builds a device to dispose of her pets' waste! There's a lot of violence, so it's not an all-ages book or anything, but it is still a refreshing change of pace and an extremely entertaining book.
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Worst Series introduced after First Wave - First Place
Is Katana an interesting character? Sure. She has a sword that sucks out her defeated enemies' souls! Other than the fact that her family is dead and she was an Outsider, there isn't a lot known about her, so she's pretty much open for any new interpretation. I have no doubt that Katana could support a solo book at some point, but this was not it. It's purely subjective, but I didn't care for most of the writing: dialogue, characterization and narrative style.
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Worst Series introduced after First Wave - Second Place
This is an example of a Wildstorm book that should have fit perfectly into the New 52. A black ops team consisting of Wildstorm and DC characters going on missions related to the recently discovered super beings during the missing five years before the New 52? Brilliant! Unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired. The plot was bad, the characters didn't feel right and the book was canceled before it ever got a chance to course-correct. I would have liked to see this book continue to expand on Wildstorm characters like Spartan, Ladytron and Majestic.
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Pre-52 Series most benefited by New 52 - First Place
Before the reboot, JLA was in the hands of James Robinson, who replaced most of the team with second generation heroes like Donna Troy, Dick Grayson and Jade. I like this writer and I liked the idea of the Titans-era heroes being important, but this book really wasn't working for me.
Since the relaunch, Johns has taken the team back to the Big 7 (even though there was a replacement in that 7). Also, most of the arcs seem to be big stories that tie in directly with the overall direction of the new universe, which makes sense for this book.
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Pre-52 Series most benefited by New 52 - Second Place
Simone's Wonder Woman was pretty good, but it had run its course by the time of the reboot. What we had instead was a crazy pseudo-reboot story called Odyssey. At the end it was revealed that it wasn't real, but it was still the only Wonder Woman that existed for over two years.
The New 52 Wonder Woman series gave us three years of consistent, intriguing storytelling. It changed Diana's origin and worked the Olympians into important supporting roles, all of which worked out really well.
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Pre-52 Series most hurt by New 52 - First Place
Johns' pre-52 Booster Gold series took a second stringer and gave him an important and unique role in the universe that fit with his character. The series survived Johns' exit and continued under folks like Jurgens, Giffen and DeMatteis.
Since the New 52 didn't have a rich history to play with, it couldn't use Booster in the same role as the old series. He became the leader of the ill-fated new JLI, and hasn't appeared much since its cancellation.
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Pre-52 Series most hurt by New 52 - Second Place
The Outsiders are one of my favorite team books. Even though they are all pretty different, I have enjoyed every relaunch of the series. They started in 1983, then relaunched in 1993, then again in 2003. Well guess what? 2013 has come and gone... no Outsiders. All we have is a failed Katana series, a few appearances of Black Lightning, a female substitute for Metamorpho and a minor, possibly out of continuity appearance of Halo and Looker in Batman Inc. On top of all that, the "Outsiders" name has already been used in New 52 Green Arrow for a completely different group. And though that group IS cool, it just makes me more certain we won't see the real Outsiders for quite some time.
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Series that was canceled too soon - First Place
Blue Beetle was one of my favorite New 52 books from the beginning, and remained so until it was canceled. It had a lot going for it that DC is in short supply of: a teenaged main character, a non-white main character and a lighter tone. Where most of the New 52 books started with heroes that had been active for 5 years, Blue Beetle started you at the beginning and handled the 'learning to be a hero' storyline very well. Plus, Jaime's banter with his scarab was comedic gold! While I like Ted Kord as much as the next guy, I'm sorry that Jaime's Scarab/Reach storyline hasn't generated more interest.
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Series that was canceled too soon - Second Place
Resurrection Man was a solid book. I may not have enjoyed it quite as much as Blue Beetle, but I appreciated the fact that it was in the hands of the original creators, who managed to make it different from the original while remaining true to their character. Mitch's powers change on a regular basis, limiting the book only by the writer's imagination. The book could literally be about anything. Unfortunately, both this and another book with similar possibilities (Dial H) were canceled before they got a chance to stretch their legs. Maybe we can add him to the Justice League Dark roster rather than letting him languish in limbo?
Runners up: Threshold, Vibe
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Series that should have ended sooner - First Place
Hawkman is notorious for having very muddled continuity and far too many conflicting versions of the character. The New 52 was the perfect opportunity to set the record straight once and for all. What we got instead was a jumbled amalgamation of previous versions of the character along with living morphing armor. The book wasn't very good, and the multiple creative team changes made to save the book just made it more complicated and less consistent. I understand that Hawkman is a classic character with name recognition, but I think he works better in a team book than a solo series. If you want to give an alien his own book, I hear J'onn's schedule is open.
Second Place: Stormwatch
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Most consistent creative team - First Place
Although it has only been around for 3 years, the New 52 has had an immense amount of writer and artist changes, not to mention cancellations. As far as I can tell, the only 2 books from the initial launch that are still running with their original writer and artist are Batman and Robin... and Batman. Out of those two, Capullo has taken a break from 4 issues of Batman, but Gleason has only missed 3 issues of Batman and Robin in the first three years. Also, there were a couple issues of Batman and the Annuals which were co-written by someone in addition to Snyder. That gives Batman and Robin the top spot!
Second Place: Batman... duh
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Least consistent creative team - First Place
With a hit TV show that shows no signs of slowing down, Green Arrow was a book that DC could not afford to cancel. This just means that they have to keep cycling through creators until they get it right. Let's count writing teams: Krul, Giffen & Jurgens, Nocenti, Lemire and finally Kreisberg & Sokolowski! I'm a little annoyed with the latest change because I was enjoying Lemire's run, but I guess I can't fault DC for wanting to make the book closer to the show.
Second Place: Superman
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Best creative team change - First Place
Batman is my favorite character, but even I have to admit this book was at best average for the first 9 issues. After knocking it out of the park with the Penguin miniseries, Hurwitz started on this title with issue 10 and brought the same dark, in-depth look at Batman's villains with Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Clayface and Man-Bat. One of the best things about Batman is his nearly inexhaustible well of interesting villains to choose from. It's a shame this book got canceled before we got to see how many villains could be covered.
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Best creative team change - Second Place
I was not a big fan of Tony Daniel's pre-52 Batman, which is to say I pretty much hated it. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled to learn Daniel would be relaunching DC's namesake title. After grumbling through the first couple issues, I rejoined the book with issue 13 and couldn't have been happier with the new team of Layman and Fabok. Layman gave us a couple of solid stories, including a huge 'issue 900' special. He also did a good job connecting to the other Bat-books, giving the impression that Batman is actually having all of these different adventures at once.
Runner up: Green Arrow (Nocenti to Lemire)
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Worst creative team change - First Place
Of the few Wildstorm books to make their way into the New 52, I think this one had the most potential. Ron Marz was just getting started, weaving together a tale with intrigue, action and complex characterization. After 4 issues, Marz was replaced and the book veered off in a completely different direction. The interesting lead developed by Marz was now an evil clone of the 'real' Voodoo, a bland, stereotypical character that took the main spot in the book. The stated reason for the change was that DC wanted to go in a different direction. Well, that direction sucked. They should have let Marz finish out his run.
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Worst creative team change - Second Place
Catwoman is a character who needs to have her own book. She is one of DC's few anti-heroes that consistently works. Winick had the book off to a good start, telling thrilling tales of thievery, exploring Selina's relationship with Batman and introducing cool new villains like Dollhouse, Bone, Reach and Spark. I'm not a fan of Nocenti, so switching from one of my favorite writers to a writer I don't enjoy in issue 13 was a drastic and unwelcome change.
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Best Writer - First Place
To those who read the rest of this list or looked at my "Top Contemporary Writers" list, this pick should come as no surprise. Elsewhere on this list, I talked about Aquaman, Justice League, Green Lantern and Forever Evil. In addition to being in charge of the entire creative direction of the DCnU, Johns is putting out quality stories on a monthly basis. His depth of DC comics knowledge, good sense of humor and ability to humanize any character keeps his stories interesting, no matter who he's writing about... even Vibe!
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Best Writer - Second Place
This one was a close race. I ended up picking Lemire over Snyder because I had already picked Batman for Best Series and wanted to share the love a little.
Lemire has an ability to mix humor with the dark and macabre (see Socks the Cat). Like Johns and Snyder, he likes to bring in obscure characters (Dr. Mist, Ultra the Multi-Alien) which is a nice payoff for longtime fans. His work on Animal Man, Justice League Dark, Green Arrow and Justice League United earn him this spot.
Runner up: Scott Snyder
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Best Artist - First Place
To be honest, I'm usually so engrossed in the story of a comic that I don't take the time to notice the differences in the artwork. However, when reading Justice League Dark, I found myself constantly thinking about how good the art was and checking to see who drew it. Janin's beautiful and distinctive art caught my eye, and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.
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Best Artist - Second Place
As I mentioned, I don't know much about art, but I have noticed there are some artists who do a good job of establishing a unique look and feel to their books. Among these is Cliff Chiang. What pushed him to the top was his work redesigning the Olympic gods for Wonder Woman. Straying from the classic 'regular looking humans in flowing white robes' approach, he made instantly distinguishable and instantly interesting characters out of legends that have existed for thousands of years.
Runner up: Jason Fabok
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Character most benefited by New 52 - First Place
Sure, there are a few obscure characters that have risen to prominence in the New 52, so why does this award go to an already popular character who has starred in her own series before? Harley's solo series is consistently selling very well, vying with Justice League for DC's #2 top-seller (under Batman, of course). Even before that series started, she got a much-needed makeover and joined the Suicide Squad, which is such a perfect fit it is now hard for me to imagine the team without her. All of these factors have really helped her become her own character and break away from her usual attachments to Joker, Poison Ivy and Batman.
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Character most benefited by New 52 - Second Place
Remember those obscure characters I mentioned in the last item? Well, here's one! In my Booster Gold item, I mentioned Johns took 'a second stringer and gave him an important and unique role in the universe that fit with his character.' That's exactly what he did with Vibe in the New 52. Tying Vibe's unimpressive vibrational abilities to the fact that universes in the DC multiverse occupy the same space but vibrate at different frequencies... Brilliant! It's so obvious that you think somebody would have thought of it before. Well, maybe they would have if the original Vibe had survived for more than two years!
Runners up: Swamp Thing, Aquaman
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Character most hurt by New 52 - First Place
Wally was the primary Flash for my entire life... you know, until he wasn't. Over time, he grew into one of the most distinct and memorable personalities of the DCU, helped in no small part by epic runs by Mark Waid and Geoff Johns. When Barry returned, there was still a place for Wally, although in a reduced capacity. People griped about Wally's absence from the New 52 until DC caved and finally shoved him in there, even though there was really no place for him with a young Barry, a young Jay and a younger Bart already around. Now we have a completely different Wally with none of the same personality, history or appeal of the original... great.
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Character most hurt by New 52 - Second Place
When I read the first couple issues of Worlds' Finest, I was struck by two things about Power Girl. One was that horrendous costume which (thank goodness) they have now scrapped. The other was the fact that her personality seemed to be reduced to a stereotypical "dumb blonde" party girl. Gone is the strong, independent, sometimes temperamental leader of the JSA. Now we have a bubbly valley girl who spends her time shopping and boy chasing, but is also possibly super smart and owns her own tech company.
Runners up: Martian Manhunter, Starfire
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Best character redesign - First Place
Cyborg's classic look is, well... classic. But it always bothered me that he had parts of his human arms, legs and chest exposed. Sure, I get that you only have a few human parts left and you want to show them off, but wouldn't you want to protect them to ensure they aren't also destroyed? It is unclear to me how much of the New 52 Cyborg is still human, but it is definitely a step in the right direction to have his vital organs protected.
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Best character redesign - Second Place
This one is mostly just for fun. Remember Aquaman's octopus companion? Well now he's a giant, powerful sea monster. Just another example of Silver Age silliness reshaped to fit into modern comics, and a nice treat for fans of old stories.
Runners up: Harley Quinn, Captain Cold
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Worst character redesign - First Place
Lobo of the New 52 is a thin, refined, elegant killer. Sound familiar? Well, it shouldn't. Lobo is supposed to be big, crass, hairy and gross. A man's man, not a gentleman's gentleman. A guy who wins fights by wading in and depending on brute strength and invincibility, not speed and technique. Now this completely redesigned Lobo claims that the version we've come to know through a 64 issue series and countless miniseries is an imposter and he is the one true Lobo. Feetal's gizz! Let's frag this bastich and get back to the version that made this incredibly minor character one of DC's best-known and iconic.
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Worst character redesign - Second Place
For every good change, there are a couple stinkers. Raven's original outfit was essentially a girl in a skintight outfit with a large cape and hood concealing most of her. The current Raven is a girl in a skintight outfit with a cape and... feather/razor hair covering her eyes...? I don't really know what else to say about this one. I don't understand what's going on with the top of her head, but it looks stupid.
Runners up: Power Girl, Joker
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Best new character - First Place
In the first 12 or so issues of Batman, Snyder provided an entire mythology for these characters. He also managed to tie in and reference old Batman ideas like Owlman, Talon and Thomas Wayne Jr. The idea of a secret society behind the scenes in Gotham for hundreds of years is an intriguing one. And their army of undead assassins gave us one of the first and best crossovers of the New 52, not to mention a pretty good spin-off title.
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Best new character - Second Place
She has only appeared in 3 issues, and it doesn't seem like she's set to appear in the near future. So we don't know much about her, but her story was pretty great. Sure, we've seen a very similar story in Silence of the Lambs and sure we've seen a daughter of Vandal Savage before. But as a guy who has existed since the dawn of man, you can never have too many kids, right? There are a couple major differences between Kass and Scandal. 1. She's essentially a normal, well-adjusted human and 2. she's solidly in the good-guy camp. I think these differences make her interesting and I would be interested to see her return in a supporting role.
Runners up: Socks, Simon Baz
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Worst new character - First Place
Not a lot to say on this one. She's a bug lady who sometimes appears in Teen Titans. She's not usually in control of her actions, so she doesn't really have a lot of personality (if any). Her appearance, her powers... Not really anything I like about this one.
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Worst new character - Second Place
The Rival, Professor Zoom, Zoom, Inertia, Savitar, Cobalt Blue, Lady Flash... There are so many evil Flashes or "Reverse Flashes", do we really need a new one? Barry's dad is still in jail for his mom's murder in the New 52. Is Danny going to be behind the frame-up or are we going to bring Eobard Thawne back, adding another layer of complication? Overall, I think it would have made more sense to just reintroduce Barry's long-time nemesis Eobard than to create this new character.
Runners up: Essence, David Graves
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Character I'd like to see in New 52 - First Place
Plastic Man's powers are cool, and have been copied several times (Mr. Fantastic, Elongated Man, Elasti-Girl, etc.). However, his true strength is his wacky personality. Putting Plas in a comic almost guarantees snappy one-liners, goofy super-antics and all around fun. Sure, Harley Quinn is sort of filling that role for DC currently, but isn't there enough room in the New 52 for a fun hero as well as a fun villain?
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Character I'd like to see in New 52 - Second Place
At first, I was thinking logically about what powers or roles we're missing in the New 52. When I decided to focus on personalities instead, Wildcat immediately jumped to the top of the list. Wildcat's role in the Pre-52 was usually mentor or grisly old veteran. This might be a little hard to pull off in the New 52 because heroes have only existed 5 years, but I'm sure they could find a way. Just look at Wildcat's Arrow appearance. He's like 30 and still pulling off the grisly old veteran role!
Runners up: Renee Montoya, Dr. Mid-Nite, Donna Troy
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Best event/crossover of New 52 - First Place
When trying to choose an event or big crossover for this award, I noticed there aren't that many. Also, most of them are enjoyable on some level. Forever Evil, however, is the first really big company-wide event. I picked this series because it had a huge scope, but still managed to stay a pretty small story. It focuses almost entirely on Luthor's motley crew and the Syndicate, allowing for a very linear and accessible story. The villains are what keep superhero books interesting, so its nice to have stories focused on them every once in a while. Also, the Syndicate provides an interesting look at another side of the big heroes.
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Best event/crossover of New 52 - Second Place
Almost from day 1, people were asking when these two great titles would crossover. Although we had to wait 12 issues to get there, the payoff was worth it. We got to spend 6 months in an apocalyptic future where the bad guy won (similar to Forever Evil now that I think of it...) and meet interesting variations on familiar characters. What pushes this event to the top are the massive turning points that take place in issue 18 of both books, containing some of the most touching moments in the New 52 thus far.
Runners up: Throne of Atlantis, Night of Owls, Trinity War
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Worst event/crossover of New 52 - First Place
It's just a matter of personal taste, but there was almost nothing I liked about this one. The high concept was very shoddy and only mildly interesting: A guy from the future kidnaps hundreds of super-powered teenagers (which only Tim Drake notices or cares about?) and forces them to fight to the death once a year in Hunger Games fashion for the right to become one of his loyal lackeys. Um... what? Worst of all, it sucked Legion Lost in to the mix, a book that had the potential to be interesting, but instead crashed and burned shortly after it became Harvest-focused.
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Best mini/oneshot of New 52 - First Place
The four one-shots under the National Comics line had a couple things going for them. They were entirely self-contained stories. They told an entire story in one issue, but left hooks that made you want to read more. They did not connect to each other or to any New 52 books. They focused on minor, (mostly) unused characters. Sure, I like to see major characters, crossovers and arcs as much as the next guy, but I also want to see some stories like this to introduce some variety. This group gets the top pick for being a breath of fresh air while containing some truly interesting stories.
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Best mini/oneshot of New 52 - Second Place
This is the third time the Freedom Fighters have been revived (and the second time by Gray/Palmiotti!). I'm not sure why these characters never catch on. If this miniseries is any indication, the characters have a lot of potential. This is the first of three miniseries focusing on new versions of Freedom Fighters. Each series has a different tone to match the featured character. This series has a light and humorous tone which is extremely welcome in the New 52. This is something I've already mentioned a couple times when discussing Harley Quinn (another series written by Palmiotti!).
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Best continuity/character change - First Place
While its not truly a continuity change since they still reference the old continuity, Swamp Thing wins this one for his change from "plant with human memories" to "human turned into a plant" (a small, but important distinction). I enjoyed Alan Moore's Swamp Thing as much as the next guy, but I think this change made a lot of sense as Swamp Thing was brought back to the mainstream. It made him easier to identify with. It also served as the perfect jumping on point for new readers without erasing the continuity that old readers enjoyed.
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Best continuity/character change - Second Place
I really like the idea of the Rogues as blue collar, working class villains. They have no designs on world domination, they don't sit around plotting revenge on heroes for imagined slights (most of the time). To them, its just a job. They're regular schmoes using a gimmick to get rich. The fact that none of them have actual powers reinforces this somewhat, but is also a bit farfetched. If you're fighting the fastest man alive, do you really think you can draw and fire a cold gun before he knocks it out of your hand? Having the Rogues gain actual superpowers while still retaining their classic attitude and personality was a good move in my opinion.
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Worst continuity/character change - First Place
I could rant about this particular item for a long time, but I'll try to summarize. Continuity changes can be frustrating for fans because they often sacrifice something they enjoyed in order to appeal to new readers. The New 52 introduced a lot of changes that frustrated me, but I could live with because I understood why they were made. The reboot of the Clark/Lois relationship and Oracle's reversion to Batgirl are prime examples.
In Lobdell's New 52 Titan's he asserts that Tim Drake worked for Batman, but always as Red Robin (i.e. he was never "Robin"). The reason this frustrates me is that there is absolutely no reason for it. One can only assume this change was made to help readers more solidly identify Drake as Red Robin. I think if Nightwing and Red Hood can both openly acknowledge their Robin roots, Drake should be no different. Also, the reasoning within the story was that Drake essentially retired the name out of respect for the fallen Todd. If that was the case, why wouldn't he have picked a name a little further from the original? Like a different bird perhaps? It would be like Nightwing calling himself "Blue Batman" when he took over for Bruce. It's absolutely ridiculous. Also, new readers could care less if Drake used to call himself Robin or Red Robin. The only people who care are the fans who read 183 issues of Tim Drake's solo Robin series. To me it just shows a complete lack of respect for the characters and their history, which makes sense for a writer who never worked for DC in any significant capacity before the New 52.
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Worst continuity/character change - Second Place
I don't have nearly as many feels on this one. Pre-52 Firestorm was two ordinary people who merged into one super-powered being, with one controlling the body and the other existing as a voice in his head. In the New 52, they changed it so the two ordinary people turned into two super-powered beings. This is not nearly as interesting, and kind of ruins the whole theme of fusion that was central to the character. Luckily, someone figured this out and now the character is much closer to his original version.
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