Comics: How New Are The New 52?
Sep. 12th, 2011 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
woodwardiocomWith DC Comics' current reboot, they took the opportunity to reset some things completely, while keeping other parts of the existing continuity. How new is new?
In many places, there are clear and unmistakable shout-outs to previous canon. Barbara Gordon was crippled by the Joker, and only recently recovered. The original Dove was killed in the first Crisis. Superman makes a casual reference to dying and coming back. Batman's "Batman Incorporated" plan still exists. The original Sgt. Rock existed.
Some references are more obscure and ontological. Alec Holland appears to remember being Swamp Thing, including memories of his wife, Abby, but those events are apparently no longer "real" history. Swamp Thing might be someone else entirely. The original Justice League International apparently existed, but in a different form and for a briefer period; Guy Gardner makes reference to working with Booster Gold before, but not for the extended time he did in the old continuity.
On the other end of things, Superman's Year One appears to be completely different again (like they didn't just rewrite it last year, I sweartagawd). Green Arrow is back to being a Batman wannabe (I don't think that's what the writers intended, it's just what they ended up with). GA is in fact one of the hardest hit by the changes; I really have no interest in learning about this new guy called "Oliver Queen". The history of Stormwatch and the Authority appears to have been wiped clean, since Apollo and the Midnighter only just met. Et cetera.
Overall, I'm pleased they kept some things, and those are likely the titles I'll keep reading. In the cases where it's a new person with the same name, I'm finding myself very uninterested.
In many places, there are clear and unmistakable shout-outs to previous canon. Barbara Gordon was crippled by the Joker, and only recently recovered. The original Dove was killed in the first Crisis. Superman makes a casual reference to dying and coming back. Batman's "Batman Incorporated" plan still exists. The original Sgt. Rock existed.
Some references are more obscure and ontological. Alec Holland appears to remember being Swamp Thing, including memories of his wife, Abby, but those events are apparently no longer "real" history. Swamp Thing might be someone else entirely. The original Justice League International apparently existed, but in a different form and for a briefer period; Guy Gardner makes reference to working with Booster Gold before, but not for the extended time he did in the old continuity.
On the other end of things, Superman's Year One appears to be completely different again (like they didn't just rewrite it last year, I sweartagawd). Green Arrow is back to being a Batman wannabe (I don't think that's what the writers intended, it's just what they ended up with). GA is in fact one of the hardest hit by the changes; I really have no interest in learning about this new guy called "Oliver Queen". The history of Stormwatch and the Authority appears to have been wiped clean, since Apollo and the Midnighter only just met. Et cetera.
Overall, I'm pleased they kept some things, and those are likely the titles I'll keep reading. In the cases where it's a new person with the same name, I'm finding myself very uninterested.
