DC Comics is the original superhero universe, creating some of the most amazing fictional characters ever. Superheroes are basically modern myth, slotting into the same places that characters like Hercules, Sinbad, and Gilgamesh occupied. Much like mythology, superheroes and their stories have their flaws and sometimes, these imperfections become such a part of characters that it completely ruins them. With superhero comics, this usually means that these characters fade away, even if at one time they were massively popular. However, these characters still have fans; they remember them before they became so problematic and they wish that they could get back the characters they loved.
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DC has done their best with their heroes, but some of them have just become problems. It feels like nothing the publisher does ever really fixes them, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be repaired. These seven DC heroes have become big problems, but there are ways to make them miracles again.
7) Catwoman
Catwoman is an iconic character, but when was the last time she was actually a good character? She got her first taste of solo stardom in the ’90s and it worked because creators didn’t put her right up Batman’s wazoo, despite decades of their flirtations. However, as the years went on, she was made into Batman’s on and off girlfriend and everything interesting about Selina Kyle as a solo character was gone. The best way to fix this problem is very simple – keep her away from the Dark Knight. Let her have her own adventures that build her as a character. If DC won’t put them together, then just keep them completely apart.
6) Deathstroke
Deathstroke is problematic on multiple levels and at least one of those will be impossible to fix (the whole thing with Terra). However, there’s another problem with the character and it’s actually one that DC has fixed before. Slade Wilson should not be heroic in his comics. In the slightest. Slade Wilson is a monster and his solo books needs to be about that. Christopher Priest did this in his Rebirth Deathstroke series, one of DC’s best villain comics ever, constantly reminding people that this was not a good person. This is honestly the key into making his comics sell better; get a creative team who is willing to make him look like the monster he is. Deathstroke as a common anti-hero is boring, but this change can make it work better.
5) Red Hood
Red Hood is a character that has had a million chances since his return to life and none of them have really panned out. Jason Todd is pretty good anti-hero, but his whole schtick of being the bad boy hero of Gotham just doesn’t work anymore. The solution is to pull a Nightwing with him – take him out of Gotham, give him his own city where he can be the kind of hero he wants, and give him his own enemies. I don’t think anyone needs to read another story with the Bat-Family getting mad at violent ol’Jason. Take him away from them, give him his own supporting cast (maybe his former sidekick Scarlett can return, either as a bad guy or a new partner). It would be something new and it could pay off well for the former Robin.
4) Power Girl
Power Girl is a DC favorite, but she’s had loads of problems since Crisis. It took years for us to find out her origin – they just went back to her original one and that she was child of the old multiverse – and tried to explain her costume’s boob hole as anything but a boob hole. Recent years saw her abandoning the name Kara and becoming Paige, but this version of the character was honestly more like Supergirl than Power Girl. At this point, she needs to go back to being Kara again and have a closer relationship with the Superman family. Put her back on the Justice Society and make her into their bruiser who loves to fight, which is the coolest conception of her. She’s an amazing character when done right and she’s really not all that hard to do right.
3) Starfire
Every DC fan loves Starfire, but ask yourself a question – when was the last time she was actually a good character? The answer is the ’80s; since then, she’s been coasting on just being the exact same character she was, except without Dick Grayson. She has no identity beyond that and that’s the problem that needs to be solved. Kori is a popular character and a solo push, taking her away from the Titans (and honestly Dick; I’m kind of tired of Nightfire shippers crying about them getting back together) would be perfect, allowing her to grow on her own. Even just putting her on the Justice League (with no Titans around) would be a step in the right direction. A character with her history should be a star and it’s about time DC got to making her one.
2) Tim Drake
Tim Drake made Robin cool again, but that was decades ago. Since then, he’s been replaced, shifted through mantles, went through the sheer horror that was the New 52 Teen Titans book (it was seriously terrible), and nowadays is just sort of there. Tim got popular because he had his own adventures away from Batman and the Bat-Family, so they should just try that again. Give him solo adventures of his own, give him a better relationship (Bernard is a blah character; Tim deserves better), and let him be Robin. Not Red Robin, not Drake, but Robin. Yes, even though Damian is Robin. There can be two Robins, one with Batman and one without. It’s what Tim and his fans need.
1) Black Adam
Black Adam was supposed to be the next big thing, but we all know how that turned out. The former Captain Marvel villain came to prominence joining the Justice Society in the early ’00s and was a star until 52, where he went from anti-hero back to villain. Since then, he’s basically become an anti-villain, a bad guy who does the right thing at times, but the character has lost his way. They always put him with a new team, but his 2022 series concentrated just on him (and Christopher Priest wrote it) and it was fanatstic. This is the key to making him popular. Fans actually love Black Adam and letting him shine on his own is the key to making him a success again.
How would you fix some of DC’s most problematic heroes? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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