 |
| The rebooted Justice League |
It's normal for heroes to get reboots ever so often. In a universe where people regularly die only to come back from the grave, fresh starts are in order. But as I've said, it's normal for a handful of characters to get a reboot, but for an entire universe, such move could get mixed reviews, and could leave a lot of heads scratching.
DC just announced its intention of renumbering all of its superhero titles in their blog, The Source. Now considering all the major and minor characters, storylines and continuity at stake, there's gotta be a good reason why DC is throwing everything out of the window to start anew.
As IGN puts it, the legal battle between DC and the family of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster could be one of the causes that spurred this sudden overhaul. Superman, being the big and influential figure he is, affects every DC character in one way or another. In case DC loses their legal battle, any repercussion the event will bring upon Supes will affect the entire DCU. The reboot maybe DC's way of protecting good 'ol Clark Kent from the lawsuit. And if change remains inevitable, DC is being proactive here by starting to work on it now.
On the other hand, comic book fan boy Kandou Erik thinks that the reboot aims to "bring the DCU to the modern-age" so that the characters can be "more appealing to this new generation of readers". If Earth One: Superman, a reboot of Supes to make him identifiable to modern readers, enjoyed success during its release, then why not try it out with the remainder of DCU?
Again, considering everything at stake here, this may throw off a lot of die hards. Considering all the time and money spent on reading all those comic books, only to see the history and continuity disregarded, this can be quite a disappointment.
So far, based on various reactions online, fan boys and girls are warming up to the reboot idea, as long as Batman, his posse and nemeses, remain untouched. I, personally, am in favor of the reboot. It's been a long time since I picked up a comic book. As much as I want to do some catch-up reading, the 3-figure issue numbers and multiverse simply overwhelms me. The only way I manage to keep up with the latest on the comic book world is by watching TV and movie adaptations, and by getting some bits of info from Wikipedia. This reboot changes everything. Not only will it make understanding the DCU easier, but it can encourage the non-comic book readers who've seen Batman, Superman or Green Lantern movie to pick up the comic book versions.
What's in it for the comic book die hards? Well, it might put an end to debates caused by all the confusion in continuity, and help finish sentences like: If Batman was a Green Lantern...
The DCU rebooted issues will be launched on August 31. And David Hyde is encouraging us to make history with them.
I agree - maybe DC is using the success of Earth One: Superman to influence their decision to change Superman. I wish they wouldn't put so much faith into an original graphic novel that just happened to get a bit of success. JMS sort of did the opposite in the main Superman title, so I'm not exactly trilled about anything of Earth One Origin.
ReplyDeleteThis younger Superman could also be related to the lawsuit. It strikes me that maybe, to remove themselves further from the lawsuit ridden Superman, maybe Conner Kent is going to take over. That would explain the age difference.