15 Years Ago, DC Introduced Their Most Controversial Change In Decades

Comic book continuity is the number one stated reason that makes it hard for new fans to get into comics. I would argue that it’s actually much easier to get into reading comics than most give it credit for, but there’s no denying that the decades of stories are intimidating to someone who has never approached something like this before. Typically, new fans don’t know where to start, or feel like they need to read two hundred issues to understand what’s on their local comic shop’s shelves. To alleviate that burden, every couple of decades or so, DC will totally reboot its continuity. From the Silver Age split to Crisis on Infinite Earths to our subject today, the New 52.

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The New 52 is DC’s most infamous reboot and, as of this year, will be turning fifteen years old. The general consensus is that this reboot was hated, or at the very least despised more than the others. However, the New 52 did give us a whole lot of good, as well. To celebrate this major milestone’s fifteenth year, we’re going to be taking a look back at all the good and all the bad it offered, and finally come to a conclusion over whether it was a good idea or not. Let’s not waste any more time and dive right in.

The 52 Reasons to Hate

Let’s start with all the very valid reasons people did not care for the New 52. The biggest reason is also the simplest: people don’t like change. This reboot completely wiped away nearly thirty years’ worth of stories and continuity. A lot of fans grew up with versions of these characters that suddenly didn’t exist anymore. They were reset to much younger versions that had almost completely different personalities. There was also a major shift in style and tone across the board. DC had always had darker stories, but the New 52 was downright gritty, like heroism was on the back burner. Wonder Woman shifted from being born of clay with her mother’s love to an affair child with Zeus, and the Amazons kidnapped men to forcibly have children.

Along with wiping away history, most characters had their relationships completely changed as well. Instead of being with his longtime love interest, Lois Lane, Superman dated Wonder Woman. Black Canary and Green Arrow weren’t close at all, despite previously being one of the best relationships in DC. Dozens of characters, such as beloved Bat-Family members like Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, were nowhere to be found. Wally West was famously replaced with Walter West, who, while a great character in his own right, wasn’t the Wally fans missed.

The canonicity of events was also majorly up in the air and very confusing. Superman’s history was completely different, but Batman and Green Lantern’s massive libraries were practically all canon, but somehow all squeezed into a five-year timeline. Despite being marketed as continuity housekeeping, the history of the New 52 is a jumbled mess. DC was trying to have its cake and eat it too, and that is never a good decision. Especially when trying to juggle decades of superhero lore. Still, there was plenty to love about the New 52.

The 52 Reasons to Love

As much as the New 52 screwed over existing storylines and characters, it did create the ultimate jumping-on point for new readers. It’s never a bad thing to make it easier for more people to get into comics, and the New 52 excelled at that. And while old stories were rendered non-canon, there’s something magical about watching a new universe with these beloved characters be built from the ground up. That’s one of the biggest selling points of the Absolute Universe, and that has been killing it. A fresh start where creativity can flourish is exactly what stories need sometimes. Reinvention can create the best stories of all.

Alongside that, DC really took a risk and started a very diverse lineup of fifty-two different books. These were not majority Batman or Superman books, either. DC had an eclectic mix of all kinds of heroes. Hawk and Dove had their own series, for Pete’s sake. OMAC had one! DC was taking big chances, and as much hate as the New 52 gets, seeing a company like DC willing to take that kind of risk is great. And the New 52 risks did pay off with their awesome new storylines. Batman (2011) is lightning in a bottle, and the new makeup of the Justice League was downright impossible to escape in marketing. Seriously, that incarnation of the League was everywhere for a decade. That’s not possible unless people like it, on some level.

The New 52, at the end of the day, is a mixed bag. It did a whole lot of damage that fans still haven’t forgiven it for, but it also set up some incredible storylines. The entire Justice League (2011) run was incredible, and the buildup to its events reached downright insane levels of quality. Of course, it also dealt serious damage to a lot of legacy characters that even today are still picking up the pieces. Overall, it definitely deserved to be ragged, but probably not as hard as fans still do.

What’s your opinion on the New 52? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!