In the war for comic book superiority only two companies seem to still be competing, DC and Marvel. The better series depending solely on personal preference. For me I prefer Marvel, this is mostly due to DC's tendency to reboot every couple years, resurrecting all who have been killed and even changing events that didn't sit well with readers. Marvel may make stupid mistakes, but they at least have the balls to live with them. The new 52 is the worst offender of all, not only did they revive dead characters, or even change minor events, but they made changes so drastic that movies like Green Lantern are now more comic accurate than the DC animated universe of the 90s and early 2000s.
But do these changes make the comics better? Yes and no, some changes I can get over, such as Beast Boy being red rather than green, the Justice League being an exclusive club, and Amanda Waller being in shape. However other changes are so bad they destroy the characters and how they fit in with everything around them.
An example of this is Superman's costume, originally it was made by Ma Kent to give him a commanding, yet friendly appearance. It was made from the blankets that were in the space ship he was found in. Now his costume is Kryptonian armor that started out white, but changed colors when he put it on simply because it read his mind for color preferences. Is this cool, yes, does it fit the persona of Superman, no. Plus this makes the costume worn by Christopher Reeves not cannon, meaning wrong and will be looked at by future viewers as a mistake made by "an incompetent director". The changes are not limited to Superman however, Batman now has only had 3 Robins, this isn't a problem when you consider the new 52 claims heroes have only been around 5 years. The issue comes with Dick Grayson, or Nightwing, in this 5 year period he has been inspired by Batman to help others, trained by him, became Robin, became Nightwing, took over as Batman for a year, and is now Nightwing again. Yet despite all of Grayson's accomplishments, Tim Drake was never a Robin in this new continuity.
Another character who seems to have suffered is Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. In the new 52 he no longer exists on Earth 1, but is exclusive to Earth 2. Here the Green Lantern is a warrior chosen by the planet itself to defend and protect it, to be honest I'm OK with this. His costume has been changes and is now all green, no purple or red, again I'm OK with it. His powers must be channeled through an item personal to him, in this case his fiance's engagement ring, another change I'm OK with. However they decided to turn him gay now. Before you cast judgement on me, hear me out. Until a year ago Green Lantern had children who's powers were inherited from their father Alan Scott, personally I have no problem with my superheroes being gay, or anyone else for that matter. However in this particular case it makes more sense for him to be straight. I guess it is possible for him to have a surrogate child, but the love of his life is now dead, meaning the chances are VERY low that we will ever see Jade and Obsidian again, at least not until the next reboot.
An interesting question being raised however, is because this is a reboot of the entire multiverse, which universe is now mainstream? My initial thought was that it was obviously Earth 1, however since the new 52's release there has been a Batman: Earth 1 book released, and next month Superman: Earth 1 volume 2 comes out making this impossible. On a brief yet interesting side note, these books are in fact closer to the classic comics than the current mainstream run. We also know it isn't Earth 2 because their is a series currently running with that title. We also know that it isn't Earth 25 because we get to see this universe in an issue of Action comics. So why does it matter what universe the new series takes place it? Because DC has made a very clear point that there is only 52 different universes, and between the Beyond, Smallville, ame-comi, Arkham, and the other three aforementioned universes, there isn't many left, some of our favorite Elseworld series may no longer exist, such as the Crime Syndicate, or Kingdom Come.
One minor complaint that seems to be common with fans is the color red. Or more specifically its overuse. With Superman he now has more of it which is noticeable, but ultimately he still looks recognizable. But for characters like Nightwing and Beast boy it makes them seem like completely different characters.
A major complaint I have however is the multiple timelines. Batman in particular seems to suffer from this in that every series is going on at different times, yet they can have crossover event even when the series are taking place years apart. It also seems to kill some of the suspense. Will Superman survive this encounter? well the series that happens 5 years later says yes. I also hate how the reference issues that have yet to come out. In Superman he fights alien parasites who came to Earth on his suit, the editor's note then says to refer to an issue of Action comics, that will be released next month for the back story of these aliens who were just defeated. The series themselves seem off as well. they have the feel of a sequel, yet the original doesn't exist, so it seems like your jumping in mid narrative a lot.
Is the new 52 worth picking up? like everything else its hit or miss on the titles, even with the same characters. For example Batman has 4 different series going, all taking place at different times along the 5 year time span I mentioned earlier, and personally I think only 1 is worth reading. The same goes for Superman, though with him I recommend Smallville season 11, it is far more like the classic hero we all grew up with, is only $1 an issue, and a new issue comes out online every week.
The Earth 2 series is interesting, and is trying to establish itself as a universe without the big heroes, that's right a world without Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman, in fact, they get killed off in the first issue allowing new heroes to rise up in their place. My favorite of which being the Green Lantern, I know I complained about him earlier, but he is a great character. Another series is Animal Man, the only hero who truly benefited from the reboot, before he was lame in every aspect except his power, now he is all around awesome. Whether or not you should read any of these titles however is still personal preference. I on the other hand give the reboot a C, both good and bad, but ultimately not as good as the classics. If you have an opinion on the subject, feel free to comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment