ReV wRites (Rants): DCnU The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
By ReVamp 26 Comments
So, unless you've been under a rock you probably already know that there is going to be a huge Reboot/Revamp in the DC universe. Maybe it shouldn't be called a reboot since most of the bits and pieces of the continuity are supposed to remain intact. But are they? Superman is going back to square one, not marriage, no respect. Same with the rest of his "family", specifically Superboy, who is going back to the "clone" phases. Most league heroes seem to be following suit. The Teen Titans is going to be formed for the first time which means that there is no previous relation between Tim Drake, Cassandra Sandsmark, Conner Kent (who isn't even going to be called that anymore) and Bart Allen (who we do not know will still be the same character or even of the same name). No Young Justice. Martian Manhunter won't be a part of the Justice League. And I could go on and on about the changes but I really don't feel like it is necessary. The point is that the only people that are really going to be similar after this supposed "Revamp" are the Bat- Community. Yep. And not even their interactions with other heroes will be kept the same. Yes I'm looking at the original Teen Titans line up. I'll get to that in a second.
To make this Blog shorter, simpler and easier to follow I will divide it into three parts. The Good, where I talk about the... Good (No sh*t). The Bad (again, self explanatory) and the Ugly (where I look at why some fans may not like this).
The Good
The part which I think is the best in the Revamp is the fact that the reimagining of all of these characters will make them relevant again, and if we are hopeful this will attract more people to the Comic Book community and thus will allow them the industry to thrive. That is what we're hoping at least, realistically speaking I'm not really sure that that many sales will have risen and that the Revamp will in the end prove to have done all that we hoped for. I still think that it is making MORE characters relevant and that it may increase sales to regulars, who may be jumping onto the DC bandwagon for the first time. I, for one, know that in the very least, the DC Revamp is my jumping on point to reading singular issues again. I also know that I'm going to be buying much more DC books instead of Marvel. I don't know if they were aiming for that, but its the effect and a positive one in the very least. Titles that weren't that interesting at first now seem to have a much more interesting "aura" around them and I seem to be wanting to wander into the ex-Vertigo titles.
The Bad
Unfortunately the DC Revamp also means a couple of things. No more Vertigo. And, something which affects me more, No more WildStorm. I know that for a fact that a few of the readers of Vertigo here on CV do not know what to think of the Revamp (keep wanting to write Reboot, for obvious reasons). This might be the chance for their characters to shine but it might also be a lack luster reinterpertation of their favourite characters which might lead for them to stop buying the current comic books, to instead delve deeper into the series that came out back in the 90s where their characters were at their greatest. To me personally, I have a couple of problems with the Wildstorm side of things. First of all there doesn't seem to be a great many cast of characters, and while I don't know all of the cast in Stormwatch, I still feel like there's something missing. I want Backlash (for those of you who know what I'm talking about, I know that he hasn't been featured in a great many comics and has been "benched" so to speak, but I still want him back DAMMIT! And yes I'm speaking about the original). I also don't know how I feel about the redesign to the characters. Have you guys looked at midnighter? Did you see that CHIN SPIKE? (Seriously WTF Jim Lee? That better not have been your idea). Apollo also looks... (Yeah I was tempted to make a pun with the word Gay). And lastly... They're in the same universe as the rest of the DC guys. Yes, I know that seems too obvious to be a problem, but these guys kill people all the time, and I doubt that this is going to be allowed in the DC universe, so unless DC is planning of doing their version of Civil War (which they're not, at least not in this way). So, it seems that this is also going to be a way in which they change the characters, and may change the characters fundamentally.
The Ugly
Here's the worst. Its what we all think at night before out nightmares. Is this being done for money? Is DC turning into MARVEL? I think that they aren't but that doesn't mean they aren't. Who knows. But more importantly, why is it that people think that DC is "selling out" (to put it bluntly). Because of all of the broken continuity. People think that its a cheap shot and it goes wrong against everything that made DC good and they feel like they got kicked in the face. I don't blame them. Personally I have two concerns. The first is the Teen Titans not existing. Well it isn't a concern, but more of a fanboyish "I HATE DC, DIE DIE DIE" problem. I won't talk about that cause you guys don't want to hear a fanboy. It would be pretty one sided argument without any real backing. The second is all this of Superman being the first hero. First of all, accodring to continuity, Batman is going to have been here for some years, but that means that Superman is also going to have been doing this for some years. In the very least. But then I think about the JSA? And I sincerely can only come out with three options: DC made a mistake (or I misinterperted the quote/solicits), JSA never existed or the one which I think is more interesting and leads me to smile uncertainly. I know its kind of late to go out with all my theories, but could it be that Superman actually took part in WWII? Could it be he's been on earth for a coupl of decades? Maybe he went into hiding between WWII and present day. But all of this is to say that DC seems to be sacrificing continuity for money, which is the ugly side of this Revamp, if its true.