Monday, August 27, 2012

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#215) -- DC Reboot

Last Friday you posted your reboot of the Marvel universe. What about 
the DC reboot? What would your version of that have looked like?

Personally, I would have loved to see the New 52 as a way of breaking from the silver age just as it broke from the golden age, and keep the names and replace the heroes completely (keeping some of the already third or fourth generation ones already established, such as Wally and Kyle and the new Blue Beetle).

In light of that, I was thinking that (and this would be radical indeed and either win me publisher of the year or get me run out of town on a rail) the New 52 should have included:

Superman - with Superman permanently off-planet and his costume and role being usurped by Shazam or Apollo

Batman - the son of Kirk Langston, more Manbat than Batman, but with all his intellect intact, under the watchcare and training of Nightwing, Dick Grayson, against the Ghul Organization run by Damion Wayne

Wonder Woman - Donna Troy, the cosmic defender of the universe, so gifted by the Titans of Greek Mythology

Green Lantern - Kyle and Bleez, leading a new Corp of all colors, and with the Guardians at his beck and call, kept in a jar like Candor
 
Flash - Wally, just doing his thing

The Metal Men - A group of androids from the Victorian era are resurrected by the souls of dead heroes of the silver age (Hal Jordon, Barry Allen, Kara, Ollie, and Tora)

Challengers of Doom - when an accident erases both the Challengers and the Doom Patrol from existence, their significant others and spouses and kids band together to track them down, come hell or high water

Primal Force - Jack O'Lantern, Mind Bender, Letifos, Damage, Wylde, and Katana explore the dark edges of the DC universe

Birds of Prey - Hawk, Dove, Hawkgirl, and Red Robin on the chase for the assassin known only as Hawkman
 
The Books of Magic - featuring Deadman (a suicidal teen who kills himself to temporarily become ghostlike), Kid Faust (the preteen granddaughter of Felix Faust), Ragman, Zatana, and The Enchantress (June Moon's daughter) on a quest to destroy all magic in the DCU in order to save the future of the world from Trigon and his army of demons

Red Robin and the Outsiders - Red Hood, Red Robin, Nightwing, Azrael, Batwing, The Spoiler, The Huntress (Cassie Cain) and the new Batman harness the power of the Wayne Foundation to fight super-powered terrorism on a global scale.

The Justice Society - featuring Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle and the Tangent Universe Joker

The Joker
- featuring the Tangent Universe Joker and her best friend and confidante Ms. Martian

Swamp Thing and the Guardians of the Green - Featuring Swamp Thing, Aminal Man's daughter, Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy, and (what?) Alec Holland

Infinity Inc. - Damage, and all new Doll Girl, Wyldeheart, Amazon (Cassie Sandsmark), Superboy, Impulse, the new Obsidian, Chameleon Boy, and Knockout take on the challenges the Justice Society is too busy to be bothered with

Green Arrow - Arrowette is all grown up and taking care of the streets of Star City with a vengeance.

Supergirls - Power Woman oversees the training of a team of four recently rescued teenaged alien females who each have one of the Kryptonian powers thanks to implanted fragments of the planet Krypton put into them while being experimented upon by their Dominator captors

Chameleon Boy
- Trapped in the present from the future, a Durlan teenager tries to fit in among humans.

Plastic Man - Undying, this former joke is now an elder statesmen among the new batch of heroes.

Blackhawks - Genius pilots build space-age jets that look like bi-planes and use them to become heroes in a world where they're seen as interlopers by the real police.

Action Comics featuring Hourgirl and Wildcat - A young model finds a necklace that grants her 1 hour of superpowers and ends up in a love-hate relationship with a burglar named Wildcat, who is one hell of a scrapper with an actual nine lives. Can she reform her, or will she have to take her to prison?

A Man Called Hex - Old west tales featuring Johan Hex and other DC old west characters.

Detective Comics - Renee Montoya (the Question) and Harvey Bulloch work with a varying cast of costumed heroes to teach them the ins and outs of detective work and make them more effective crimefighters.

DC Presents - for stories to introduce other characters

The Suicide Seven - A brand new Red Bee, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Captain Boomerang, H.E.R.O., Phantom Lady (Tinya Wazzo, transplanted from the future), and Countessa Vertigo are a team of Marines trusted with the missions that normal soldiers might never survive.

Legion of Super Heroes - Jump 1000 years into the future where the Time Trapper has been defeated along with most of the universe, and in an effort to reform searches the cosmos for any young people with great power he can form into an army to replace the hive mind that is ruling most of sentient space.

Amethyst - a full reboot on the princess of Gemworld, taking it back to the original idea

Shade and Jack - An elderly Jack Knight is rescued from a heart attack by Shade and given the opportunity to be a younger man again -- as long as he uses the staff (without it, he risks aging again and dying again).

Lanterns Inc. - a book of tales featuring various members of the The Lantern Corp.

The Thunder of Shazam! - Re-introducing Thunder into the modern timeline as the new heir to the power of Shazam while Billy is playing Superman.

Catwoman - The daughter of Catman is an assassin who specializes in capes.

Deathstroke and the Titans - Rose Wilson trains a new generation of teen heroes.

Resurrection Man - featuring Deadman (see The Books of Magic)

Adventure Comics featuring Beast Boy - An eight year old foster child can command the entire animal kingdom. Can he learn to be a hero to a world that doesn't want him?

Agents of C.Y.B.E.R. - featuring new versions of Voodoo, Spartan, Zealot, Void, and Grifter as secret agents infiltrating the world of the super-powered teams.

Aquaman - A cop discovers he has the power to manipulate water and make it do his bidding. He adopts a costume as Aquaman to clean up the streets in ways he never could during the day job.

Kobra - A young woman is sacrificed to an ancient snake goddess but is reborn as the living embodiment of the goddess with all her powers.

Blue Beetle - keep the same as now

There you have it. My plan for either killing or re-inventing the DCU.

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