by Matthew Russell - Posted 4 years ago
SHOUT OUT, Vigilantes! We have a lot of ground to cover today as we jump into this 5G debacle over at the DC Headquarters. Burbank California has been a hotbed surrounding this new 5G initiative and we are not talking about phone service.
Let's first take a deep dive into what it is and what led to this. Don’t worry, eventually we will get to my personal suggestions.
5G is basically just the 5th Generation of comics. DC is planning a new shake up with all of their “Flagship” characters.
Just like in the “Silver Age” of comics, DC rebranded itself. This brought them new characters with old names. Flash was no longer Jay Garrick, but Barry Allen. Green Lantern was no longer Alan Scott, but this time was a pilot by the name of Hal Jordan.
Let's be honest, it worked back then. This new direction breathed new light into characters that were no longer selling.
Lets face it, sales are down for DC. Stories like My Hero Academia (basically X-Men with a Japanese twist) are way up. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman...not so much. This tells us that the public loves super heroes, but the biggest ones are not as popular. Why!?!
Well, let's look at what DC has done recently. This could give us a few clues.
Before I go any further, let me explain myself. I love me some super heroes. Before my wife and kids came along, my first true love was the BIG 3, the holy trinity of comics, Clark, Bruce, and Diana. They are my longest lasting relationship.
I have sung their praises right here on this blog. I have begged Warner Brothers to let me write a new Man of Steel movie (still begging if anyone is listening). I have called out to Tattoo artist for a Superman fortress tattoo. (I know, I know...very geek of me). My point, I love me some DC.
I have followed DC ever since I learned to read...in fact, that is how I learned to read. Thank you DC for all those fond memories.
Anyway, I stopped reading DC as heavily after the New 52 shake up. The reboot of all the characters made very little sense to me. Some stories were cannon, others weren’t, then a few issues later the stories that we were told to forget about were cannon. The only stories that stayed were Batman and Green Lantern stories.
Side characters were no longer sidekicks. Tim Drake (Robin) was now never Robin and didn’t know who Batman was yet “Lonely Place of Dying” was still cannon. If you didn’t know, that's the story where Tim Drake announced that he knew who Batman was and became the new Robin.
Superman wore armor (actually, I loved the armor design by the LEGEND himself Dan "Freakin" Jurgens), yet he also wore a cape, blue jeans, and a Superman T-Shirt. He was no longer the Clark Kent that we all knew, but a blogger of sorts.
Ok, this all ended with another major shake up or “Reboot” called Rebirth. This was going to throw all the rules out the window. If a writer wanted continuity, then they could have it. If they didn’t, no cannon. It was so confusing and a jumbled hot mess.
Sorry, i just watched Not Another Teen Movie over the weekend and it just came out. Kevin Smith said it best with…
Brody: A Reboot is when Hollywood wants to make a lot of money without the hassle of creating a new movie. So, they take an old movie and change just enough to make you pay for the same s**t all over again.
Now that I got that off my chest, let's look at the facts. DC has rebooted itself far too many times under the direction of Dan Didio. I love the man to death. I had lunch with him a few years back, but he wanted to kill off Nightwing during that Infinite Crisis reboot.
Speaking of which, over the weekend AT&T and Warner Bros. had a meeting with Dan “The Man” and let him go. YEP, he’s a free agent now. The Milkman Man pictured below is really a brainwashed Superman.
DC used to be the Cadillac of Comics. Now we are being forced to read storylines like “Milkman Man” (Yes, I said that right). A horrible story is expected after 80 years in publication. We can forgive the occasional WTF storyline as long as they are isolated incidents, but this is happening on a regular basis.
And what is DC’s solution...Reboot! Ever since Zero Hour, we get a clean slate every couple of years. Now it seems like every couple of months. It's not fair to the loyal fans.
I totally forgot to mention CONVERGENCE. There might be a good reason for that forgetful mistake.
Now here is another gimmick. Batman is no longer Bruce Wayne. If you look up up in the air, our Superman will no longer hide under the glasses of Clark Kent. You get the point.
Just going off the major rumors coming out of California, I can’t tell if it is just the Trinity that will be replaced or the entire JLA, or worse yet, the entire cast of DC favorites. They will be replaced with younger, more culturally diverse, importers (just as Jay & Silent Bob predicted in “Reboot”).
Each character must hit a certain amount of check boxes. Not to get on a soap box but this is what recent history has proven.
Bet me, Batman will be a struggling Black man in an urban Gotham (assuming he is still in Gotham). Don't be surprised if Clark now “metro” or “pan”. It has already been revealed that Wonder-Woman is bi (as confirmed by writer Greg Rucka in a 2016 interview with the Hollywood Reporter).
No word yet if these will be existing characters (Luke Fox son of Lucius Fox taking over as Batman) or all new characters (think Jean Paul Valley). I don’t think that they would do a straight up replacement on these iconic characters. Dear God, please do not let them replace anyone with new heroes.
The only thing we know is that Wonder Woman arriving will be the dawn of the superheroes. This means Superman will come later.
According to Didio, the older stuff sells better than the new comics.
Yes, that's because DC hasn’t made a good story for years. All the greats have become Indy creators that have been flying off the shelves. They know how to work a character and mold them into greatness. Current DC is just rehashing old stories and revamping whatever doesn’t fit with the current times.
Another reason that Didio pushed for the new 5G is to “simplify comics”. Wait, what? I think that the easiest way to simplify the comics would be to...wait till the end for my suggestions.
I don’t think that the comic industry can take such a huge hit. DC made the Justice League movie after the critical flop of Batman V Superman. In the last few years, DC has floundered.
Marvel came out with the “All New Marvel” series. Although critically acclaimed and embraced by fans, sales were not what was expected. Personally, I loved aspects of it.
Dan Didio has some internal conflicts concerning the “Generation Five” relaunch. One of those opposed was Batman writer Scott Snyder. It all boiled down to the fact that Batman’s “Death Metal” title was going to kick off the event but Scott wanted nothing to do with 5G. As a result, DC scrubbed any mention of ‘Death Metal’ from any official releases regarding Generation Five.
Apparently AT&T and WarnerMedia (the DC Comics parent companies) pulled Dan into a meeting Friday at 10:30 to dismiss Dan.
As I have said before, Dan is a great guy. I don’t believe that he deserved this. We wish him well, just as we wish everyone well at DC. Good Luck Jim Lee. As the sole publisher of this giant, you have your hands full and some big shoes to fill.
I haven’t been able to get any word from any of my inside sources as to what is going to happen now. From everything I can gather, 5G is still on the table.
Here comes my famous soapbox rant. It’s what you have all been waiting for, at least I tell everyone that this is what you have been waiting for.
Let 5G happen, just not where you think. In the early days of the Silver Age, DC created the multiverse. Identify those boundaries. After the events of the Doomsday Clock (messing with the Watchmen Universe in ways that it shouldn’t have been messed with) create a group of ragtag heroes that travel from Universe to Universe with the mission to keep them seperate.
Print stories from all the different Dimensions under the old “Elseworld” stamp. Return the main universe to a Post Zero Hour universe.
This way you could have a New 52 story along with Red Son and keep the “prime” universe in tact. Also, simplify the stories and figure out who your characters are.
Batman is the Dark Knight. He is a street level vigilante that works best as a low profile. I personally liked it better when everyone thought of Batman as a myth.
Superman is an inspiration. He gives everyone a goal to get to. He is a leader. Now as a father, he is what all fathers should strive to. He does not have “super whistle” powers or a sunburst power.
Wonder Woman is the perfect hero for all little girls to look up to. She is the female version of Superman. She values truth and unity and is the ultimate diplomat, yet she never backs away from a fight.
The costumes should be grounded in nature. Superman doesn’t need armor, Batman does. It's strange to think of Batman running around in tights dodging bullets. I love what the movies are doing with this idea. Do that! (exception to the rule: Flash. With flash, copy the shows season 2 costume).
Speaking of the Flash; Wally West should never have become a killer nor All-Powerful. He is a speedster, the best speedster of them all. Heroes in Crisis ruined him.
As we keep a close eye on the future of DC, we will keep you informed. Check back periodically as we bring you all the latest news. Until then check out our Marketplace and read up on some “Non-Rebooted” masterpieces. Ciao for now!
It looks like Captain Boomerang Jr. will become the newest Flash. Since Wally East is the newest Dr. Manhattan, and Bart Allen is dead (I think, for now) somehow Owen Mercer will be stepping into the role made famous by Barry Allen. WTF is happening to Barry? Not my Barry!!!
Nu’bia is going to be the new Wonder Woman. So she is black and her name is Nu’bia. Are they serious? How on the nose is that!?! At least she is Amazon.
