DC Comics has finally let us know what exactly “Rebirth” is — at least in vague terms.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It has to do with legacy, celebrating the company’s history, and embracing all their stories — even the ones that haven’t really been welcome through the door since 2011’s reboot.
So…with that in mind, who do we think deserves a legacy-powered, continuity-embracing return to greatness? Read on…!
THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
With a flight ring showing on up on both The Flash and Supergirl this season, and probably the longest comics sabbatical since they first got a series, the Legion has to be something that’s hanging heavy over DC Editorial.
Legion Lost, which wasn’t a bad book but never caught fire, represented the publisher trying to find a way to integrate the Legion characters into the DCU proper. A guest spot in Justice League United didn’t really do much to pave the way for more appearances, since by then United was a dead comic walking.
But..yeah. This is one of DC’s most historically-successful franchises, with a small but incredibly vocal and rabid fan base, and they haven’t had a real “shot” since the start of the New 52. It can’t be an accident that they appeared in the Rebirth video…!
KATE SPENCER, MANHUNTER
This one seemed like a long shot when the reboot happened, given the fact that Kate Spencer’s backstory leans so heavily on the history of the (pre-Flashpoint) DC Universe…
…but since then, we’ve seen that elements of that backstory still exist–or at least, they can when needed. Cameron Chase’s parental backstory doesn’t make a ton of sense in the timeline of the post-Flashpoint DC Universe, but it’s there because it makes sense for the character.
Given that no previous version of Manhunter has taken hold with fans anytime recently in the way that Marc Andreyko’s take did, it’s arguable that she, like Jaime Reyes, can be inserted into the world of the New 52 as the first/only Manhunter without breaking too many hearts…but if not? Well, that’s what that whole “legacy” word is about, isn’t it?
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Geoff Johns is the head honcho at DC in many ways, but some of the things that he cut his teeth on — including Hawkman and JSA — have been out of circulation in any meaningful way for years.
The post-Flashpoint version of Earth-2 is fine, and has turned out some pretty good stories, but it’s simply not anything like the one that came before it, and when you talk about “legacy,” as Johns, DiDio and Lee have been doing, the JSA — and in particular Johns’s time with the team, when they became a farm club for young heroes — is the first thing that springs to mind.
THE QUESTION
Long one of the favorite non-powered characters at DC, The Question got a popular reset in 52, becoming a bigger part of the Gotham community, and then…nothing.
When relaunched following Flashpoint, The Question was turned into part of a mystical trinity, which didn’t really suit his character, and then he kind of vanished into the background when the whole Trinity of Sin thing amounted to very little in terms of fan interest.
The latest move by DC to clear up their line and make sure “everything counts” gives them a great opportunity to reintroduce the second Question, or at least retool the original so that he’s got more of what made him great.
BOOSTER GOLD
Because anybody who reads my work regularly knows I’m a huge Booster Gold fan, and because he had a series that ran for 50 issues immediately prior to the New 52 so it’s not like we’ve been wandering in the darkness or anything, I’ve held off on including Booster in similar lists like this one in the past.
But you know what? It’s time.
Pre-Flashpoint, the greatest hero you’ve never heard of headlined a title that lasted for fifty issues. That’s not a massive feat or anything, but in today’s market it’s pretty darn impressive for something that doesn’t have Bat- or …Avengers in the title.
It’s also only a story arc or so shorter than any of DC’s New 52 relaunch titles will have lasted before they’re rebooted at #52 this summer.
(Booster technically didn’t make it to #50, but had a #0, a #1,000,000, and a Brave and the Bold tie-in issue; the New 52 launch titles will have had a #0, a villains’ month issue, etc.)
Besides the longevity of the previous title, which indicates there’s at least enough fan interest to trump books like Deathstroke and Teen Titans, which have been rebooted every couple of years to maintain interest, Booster’s pre-Flashpoint counterpart was a major player in the Convergence story, revealing secrets about the DC multiverse that could be pretty cool to explore…
…and of course, there’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Just renewed for a second season, Legends is unabashedly taking a lot of its high concept from Booster Gold‘s most recent volume, in which Rip and Booster are secret Time Masters and each storyline seemed to deal with a new alternate reality created when time-travel went awry.
And one more thing: with the idea of “legacy” being returned, the breadth of storytelling Booster and other time travelers can explore is significantly expanded. The best of his stories was usually when he could interact with important moments from DC Universe history — and with the advent of the New 52, the universe’s history was shortened and ill-defined, making those kinds of stories virtually impossible to tell without stepping on somebody’s toes.
