The New DC Universe: The M.I.A. List
So as of this week, DC has announced all 52 of their newly revamped/relaunched comics book titles, and some longtime mainstays of the DC Universe seem nowhere to be found, at least initially. Now, DC has hundreds of characters…some vanish for years at a time, but the following characters have been fixtures in one way or another for the past several years, and in some cases several decades, and their lack of starring roles in the new DCU is very telling…and very worrying for long time DC geeks like myself. The following are the ten I’m most surprised are being seemingly left to limbo….or are at least being left to limbo for the time being….
#1. Wally West/The Flash
The biggest name on the MIA list has got to be Wally West, the third Flash. There was some speculation among fans that he was being “de-aged” back to his former identity of Kid Flash and was starring in the upcoming Teen Titans series, but DC confirmed the Kid Flash in that book was the current one, Bart Allen. So where is does that leave poor Wally, the character who carried the name and title of the Flash for over two decades? In many ways, it is the Wally West version of the Flash that is the most well known, as he was the version used on the JLU animated series that was seen by millions of fans. Would DC Just erase him out of existence? I highly doubt that would happen, but so far he might be the highest profile character that we know of that seemingly has no place in this new DC Universe. Yet.
#2.The Justice Society of America
This is another pretty damn big omission. Of the 52 titles announced, the Justice Society of America is not among them. The JSA has been a mainstay DC Universe title since 1999, and just as a concept they are crucial to the DC Universe as the world’s first super team, going back to the days of World War II. But with DC trying to be edgier and more youth oriented, could the first casualty been the old farts of the JSA? It would seem strange….DC has always been proud of their legacy, and now they seem to be ashamed of it, as if they don’t want anyone to know their real age. (pppst. they’re 76.) It would also be strange if this new DCU, masterminded by Geoff Johns, erased the book that helped make him a superstar writer in the first place. Not to mention the JSA has always been the home to Stargirl, a character created by Johns as a tribute to his late younger sister. Would a comic book history fan like Johns just erase the entire early history of the DCU, including characters like the original Flash and Green Lantern, not to mention Dr. Fate and the Spectre, just to seem younger and cooler? The whole thing just reeks of desperation. Just a year ago I would have said no way, but the lack of any JSA characters being included (with the exception of Mr. Terrific) in the DC Universe, I’m starting to think their days are numbered. And that is a huge bummer.
#3.The Huntress
A main member of the Birds of Prey team, Helena Bertinelli does not appear on the cover of the new DCU Birds of Prey comic, or seemingly anywhere at all in this new universe. With Batwoman and Batgirl taking center stage again, was that one too many female crime fighters in pointy masks running around the streets of Gotham City? DC publisher Dan Didio has said he wants to return most characters to their original incarnations. In the case of the Huntress, she was originally conceived as the grown up daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, so I doubt they are going that route with her again, expecially with a now younger Batman. Huntress is ultimately too popular a character to stay down for good, and her association with Batman and his troops almost makes certain she’ll show up at some point, but for now she seems mysteriously absent. Of all the characters on this list, I think she will be the first to turn up somewhere. Just a hunch. And probably without her bare midriff showing anymore.
#4.Power Girl
Power Girl has been around since 1975, as the sassier, older and bigger tittied Earth -2 version of Supergirl. Powergirl must have some kind of comic book “Get Out of Jail Free” card, because she continued to survive in the DC Universe, even when she had no business doing so. After the 1985 mini series Crisis on Infinite Earths, the DC Universe was rebooted as having only one survivor of Krypton, that being obviously Superman. Even Supergirl was killed off, but somehow Power Girl survived and was given a new origin. She continued to be a supporting character in books like Justice League International, until finally getting a major spot on the JSA which renewed her popularity (and her original costume) ultimately resulting in her original Kryptonian origin restored and her own ongoing series. Now it looks like having a doppelganger of Supergirl from another Earth is too complicated for this new DC, and maybe Powergirl’s good fortune has run out….Although I sincerely hope not.
#5. Donna Troy
Another character with a very complicated history, and more varying origins than even Power Girl has had. As the original Wonder Girl, Donna has been the backbone of the Teen Titans since their inception, and for many years in the early 80’s, was far more popular and well written than her older sister Wonder Woman. There was speculation that the black haired woman on the cover of the new Justice League International #1 was Donna Troy, but that has since been debunked. We know Cassie Sandsmark exists as a version of Wonder Girl in this new DCU…does that mean Donna Troy now simply never existed? After giving her a higher profile as a member of the JLA these past couple of years, it would royally suck if she was taken out of existence. Especially for this fan, as she is a personal favorite. But so far, there is no sign of her.
#6.Stephanie Brown (Batgirl)
Poor Steph…initially debuting as the Tim Drake version of Robin’s love interest code named Spoiler (seriously, the worst super hero name ever. What is she gonna do, tell you the ending of a movie before you saw it? Adorn the back of a race car?) she eventually graduated to being the first female Robin, only to be killed off soon after. But a few years later due to popular demand, she was brought back and two years ago finally earned the title of Batgirl and her very own ongoing series. Well, less than two years later, not only she is she being replaced as Batgirl by the original bearer of the name, Barbara Gordon, but she seems to be nowhere to be found in any of the solicitations for the 52 new ongoing titles. To make it so far in the Bat-verse only to possibly be relegated to non existence so fast has got to be a blow to her very vocal fanbase. It seems that three of the former Robins have their own titles, but there can only be two Bat-women around at a time, or fanboy’s heads will get confused. it is still possible that Stephanie Brown may show up in some form or another still, as it seems the Batman family timeline is more or less intact, but only time will tell.
#7.Captain Marvel (Shazam)
Of all the properties DC Comics owns, the Shazam family is one of the most famous to the mainstream, and yet is seemingly one of those properties that DC just can’t get a handle on to sell to a modern audiences. And yet if there was ever a time to attempt it, it would seem to be now. The appearance of “Captain Thunder” in Flashpoint leads me to believe that DC is still thinking of the character and wants to expand his appeal, but the lack of any Marvel Family characters in the 52 launch makes me think it still something they are going to put off for another time.
#8. The Atom/Ray Palmer
I wasn’t entirely expecting to see the Atom get his own title, but DC went to great lengths to bring him back into prominence in the last few years, even killing off his successor in the role, Ryan Choi. But so far, he doesn’t seem to be in any of the team books either. The new Justice League is said to eventually sport a fourteen member line up, so I could see him landing in there somewhere. With books being launched about the Blackhawks and even Frankenstein for fuck’s sake, I’d think DC would at least attempt to use Ray Palmer somewhere and not leave him in limbo, seeing as he has been a fixture of the overall DC Universe since 1961.
#9. Beast Boy & Raven
As I write this, I’m not even sure that the 80’s New Teen Titans series is even in continuity right now (and if it is not, it would break my heart, that is my favorite comic book series of all time) but ever since that book originally came out, the characters introduced there have become mainstays of the DCU, and eventual cartoon tv stars. We know that former Teen Titans like Nightwing, Cyborg, Starfire and Arsenal are in this new universe, but where are former Titans Beast Boy (or as I knew him, Changeling) and Raven? This list already includes Wally West and Donna Troy, so it just seems to me that the folks at DC seemingly have a grudge against their once best selling characters, the Titans. Way to show gratitude to the characters that once helped save the company from being sold.
#10. Catman (Thomas Blake)
Five years ago, writer Gail Simone took a C-List Batman villain from back in the day named Catman and injected him with whole new life (and a new fanbase) in the pages of Secret Six, and no one could have known what a beloved character he would become. And with the announcement that Secret Six is no more, people are wondering if this is the end of Catman as well. To create such a fan favorite out of what was once a joke of a character is pretty hard to do, so it seems silly for DC to throw one out with the garbage…maybe he’ll end up on the new Suicide Squad? Right now it is all up in the air.
