Black Batman, Lumberjack Superman And Other Oddities Of The New DC Universe

So now that DC Comics has officially unveiled all fifty-two of their new comic books, there are quite a few things that have us scratching our heads and saying "What the?!?" While there are some titles that have us really excited and other titles that have us wondering if they will even see a second issue, some of the most unusual changes are cosmetic and costume related changes.

After glancing at the covers of the new DC Universe, there were several oddities that jumped out at us, but these are a couple of our favorites. From the Black Batman to Lumberjack Superman, good or bad, the DC Universe is definitely about to start looking a whole lot different.

Black Batman – We always worry when a new comic book sounds like a pitch for a bad sitcom spin-off. So, you've got Batman right, but this is like the black version of Batman. Ok, maybe, there will be more to the book than that, but even the DC Comics blurb about the first issue offers little more description than "the first black character to wear the Batman mantle." While we really respect DC Comics attempt to add more diversity into their comic books, this seems like little more than a headline grabbing publicity stunt to make the media say things like "Batman is Black."

– Join DC Comics in the historic re-launch of the longest running comic series, when they ask the question "What if Superman were a lumberjack?" Don't get us wrong, we're really excited about seeing Grant Morrison's spin on the Man of Steel, but the cover image of Action Comics #1 makes Superman look like a steroid-pumping lumberjack. If this is supposed to be how Superman looked when he first emerged to the world as a superhero, we're really wondering how he transforms from an over-muscled hillbilly to the armored, hi-tech looking Superman in Superman #1. Watch Superman turn from country boy to robot!

– The new Hawkman series is actually one of the new DC Comics that excites us the most, but you've got to admit the new look bears more than a striking resemblance to a certain marvelous mutant. The only thing missing from the cover of The Savage Hawkman #1 is the tagline "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice."

– The new Nightwing is a far cry from Batman's boy wonder sidekick Robin. How do we know this? Because his new black costume has a dash of red right down the center, and he has those evil glowing red eyes. Is the new Robin/Nightwing an evil demon or just a victim of bad photography exposure?

– So a bunch of superheroes get together to form a new super team, and over half of them decide to dress alike? What is up with the v-necks? We have this overwhelming fear that the first issue is going to revolve around a big dispute over the team's new dress code. We hear Superman saying, "Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman and even Batman are down with the v-necks, so what's everyone else's problem?" Fine, Flash, if you and Cyborg are going to insist on doing your own thing with the stupid looking chin guards and don't want to look ultra-modern and cool, then you're going to be regulated to the bottom half of the cover."

– So there appear to be two different versions of Superboy. One looks like a character from Tron and has his own series, and the other is wearing what looks like a "Kick Me" sign and is a member of the Teen Titans. While the bar code tattoo is actually kind of interesting, surely he could have done better than taping a hand-drawn, black-and-white logo to the back of his sleeveless t-shirt. Talk about your low budget redesigns.

– So, like, what's the first thing you noticed about the new Catwoman? Sure, the costume isn't a far cry from Catwoman costumes we've seen in the past, but she looks more bound and determined to show off some of her assets than ever before. Is the main plotline going to be how Batman is able to resist grabbing hold of that round zipper tag and seeing the rest of what Catwoman has to offer? We were so distracted that we almost didn't notice that Catwoman wasn't wearing shoes. If there were any doubts about what the new Catwoman has on her mind, DC Comics reminds us, "She's good at being bad, and very bad at being good."