So I was a bit more neutral about this DC Comics line-wide reboot before? Not so much now.
Especially after the skinny on what they plan to do with the Batman franchise got revealed.
You can read the details here.
Now I’m a little pissed. So Dick Grayson has been demoted back to Nightwing? FAIL on so many levels. What was the whole point of him becoming Batman in the first place? I know, its just a comic book and this ‘Ultimatization’ of the DC universe does not null and void the preceding stories.
But I really liked how the first Robin now had the brass ring, and fans were responding well to him as the new Batman, especially his partnership with the new Robin.
The Big 2 Comic Book Companies have a storied history of making big changes that will CHANGE THE FACE OF THAT UNIVERSE FOREVER…only to reboot and go back to status quo months later. It happened with Green Lantern when Hal Jordan took back his spot from Kyle Rayner. It happened recently with Barry Allen returning as the Flash. And it just happened this month after the Bucky Barnes Captain America was killed during the Fear Itself crossover. Don’t be shocked if Wolverine and Cyclops’s bromance is rekindled two years after the ‘world-changing’ Schism event.
Now if these changes were tanking, I’d get switching back to what worked prior. But if fans are digging it, why not just let the changes actually stick? Why does a reboot mean regressing back to what worked 10-15 years ago instead of actually moving ahead?
The same goes for Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. First off, most modern fans don’t even remember her as Batgirl, secondly, I think she wielded way more power as Oracle, who despite her paraplegia, fought crime with her mind. Again, another step backwards.
But probably one of the most galling parts of the Batman franchise reboot is Batwing, the Batman of Africa? WOW. Really? So one man is going to fight crime in all 54 countries? You couldn’t have just picked one country for him to police? Or even just a city in that country? Mind you, this is DC’s way of being ‘diverse.’ So if someone bitches, their response is, ‘well we gave you a high profile black character didn’t we?”
Can you just create new superheroes who happen to be non-white, or gay with out it being the most interesting things about them? At the end of the day, people care about the characters. If they happen to be diverse, that’s just sugar on Apple-jacks. It sweetens the deal. Don’t make that the entire basis of the hero’s character.
Still, I’ll watch this reboot from afar. Just had to get some early annoyances off my chest.
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