Were We Wrong About the New 52?

The New 52 is remembered in infamy by comic book fans. It was the biggest DC reboot since Crisis on Infinite Earths, and while Crisis is remembered as both one of the greatest comic book events of all time and the single best reboot, the New 52 is despised for stripping away decades of storytelling and mythos from beloved characters. Ultimately, much of what the reboot did was undone five years later with the Rebirth relaunch, which restored at least the memories of the previous continuity to most characters. Nearly across the board, fans were happy to see the New 52 go. Yet, perhaps we as fans were too harsh on this much-hated reboot. I stand by the opinion that while it is a good thing the old mythos were restored, the New 52 did a lot more good than people give it credit for.

The New 52 Was Far From Perfect

Before we can actually discuss what the New 52 did right, we should acknowledge the many places it did wrong. For one, longtime fans of the comics felt like they were slapped in the face when the decades of storytelling and characterization they loved were written out of existence. A lot of secondary and tertiary characters were completely wiped away and seemingly forgotten about, like Wally West and Cassandra Cain. Fans dedicated to these characters had every right to be mad, and that even extends to the headliners of the universe. Most of the main DC heroes had their origins reworked and their lores changed, and for the most part all these changes did was make them edgier and meaner. Frankly, the neutering of Wonder Woman’s backstory should be considered a crime. The entirety of the New 52 had this rebellious nature to it that didn’t sit right with a lot of fans, because they expected their heroes to be more heroic, but this universe felt one hundred percent inspired by the peak of edgy comics in the ‘90s.

Beyond all the backstory and character reworking, the timeline didn’t make a whole lot of sense. The New 52 started just five years after superheroes became a mainstream topic in their universe, and yet Batman and Green Lantern had fully-established mythos that could not possibly fit in that timeframe. Batman went through four Robins in five years, and frankly that’s just horrifying. The old continuity was very confusing at times, yes, but the new one was just as bad with DC elaborating on which stories were canon and which weren’t in the worst and least effective ways possible. It was very much a situation where DC wanted to have their cake and eat it, and you can’t have both. And yet, the New 52 did a whole lot of good for DC as well.

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What the New 52 Did Right

The New 52 was a failure in a lot of ways, but it definitely succeeded in what it wanted to do most; it gave readers a fantastic jumping on point. The biggest barrier to entry into superhero comic books is the feeling of jumping into the middle of something that you don’t understand. While getting into comics is far easier than the people who dread it believe, from the outside looking in our beloved universes look like impossible math equations and mobius strips, just overwhelmingly confusing. The New 52 looked those readers in the eyes and said that this is the best possible place to start reading about those characters you love, and it was. The new runs on a lot of the characters were perfect spots to hop on and learn about the character you wanted to, which would inspire new readers to get more into the hobby as a whole. Beyond just comics, DC’s animated movies used the New 52 as a blueprint for their movies in the 2010s and they were instrumental in connecting to a new generation of fans. They succeeded because they had a perfect, simple starting point they could evolve from. I grew up on these movies myself, and they are a large part of the reason I got so into comic books.

The New 52 simplified and streamlined concepts like the Justice League in a phenomenal way. And frankly, the Justice League’s New 52 lineup is so simple and so classic in a way most other incarnations wish they could be. Beyond that, while I agree the old lore shouldn’t have been disrespected like it was, cleaning it away allowed writers to look back at what worked and what didn’t and decide how to modernize and improve the characters in some really cool ways. The level of coolness the New 52 gave Aquaman alone justifies its existence. It elevated him from a joke to a legitimate badass that has informed all of his runs since. Yes, Aquaman was always cool, but his New 52 run pushed him to the next level. This freedom brought some of the best ever storylines to characters. Just look at Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman, which defined the era of Batman we are in right now. And even ignoring all of the fantastic stories that came from it, starting over with all these beloved characters is fun! The sense of adventure and discovery it gives each issue, which can give you something you’ve never seen before or reimagine something in the best way possible, is incredible. This sense of pure joy is a definite driving force in what makes the Absolute Universe so popular, after all.

The New 52 gets a lot of flack, and a lot of it is justified, but I think we as fans are too harsh on this reboot. Yes, I am glad that it ended, but it wasn’t a bad idea in theory. I believe that with a better long-term plan and respect for the past, this reboot could have been as beloved as the Crisis reboot. Either way, love it or hate it, I don’t think anyone can deny the impact the New 52 has on DC to this day. That, at least, is something we should never forget about.