DCnU’s 5 Year Continuity Doesn’t Work!
The biggest thing to happen to comics in a very long time may be standing on some shaky ground. Many writers and fans find that DC Comic’s continuity is what prevents many of the characters from moving forward or their books harder to jump into. Writers on the other hand have proven otherwise that the rich history can be utilized to not hinder the characters but propel them forward or even reintroduce them to a new audience.
So why is DC Comics attempting to reboot their entire line? I believe it’s for the two following reasons: money and creativity. The money aspect does sound like they are being a greedy typical money grubbing corporation but the facts are facts. DC Comics is a business and in order to continue to operate they must worry about their bottom line. Being second to Marvel in overall sales since the late 60’s is something DC will probably want to turn around. Creating a new line that will cater to not only superhero genre fans but also fans of horror, westerns, and war comics seems like a smart way to go. The new line may work in terms of purpose and may very well work for their goal to create a stronger brand that flows across various media forms. So why am I saying DCnU’s reboot might not work?The reboot works from every other point except the one aspect they are trying to clean up: story continuity. Yes, they are removing decades worth of cluttering history that will piss off fanboys to no end but I’m not talking about that story continuity. I am referring to the new continuity that already has 5 years of pre-set stories told with various popular tales from the old continuity still being upheld. Blackest Night, Identity Crisis, and Brightest Day will all be considered canon. Not only that but Batman and Green Lantern’s sometimes convoluted continuity will remain untouched due to their high profile success.
Apparently in a five year span of operation Batman is on his fourth Robin, the Justice League got tired of villains targeting loved ones and lobotomized them, many of the dead friends that may not have died in the new continuity returned to kill them as ring bearing cosmic zombies, Hal Jordan died and came back to life with Earth earning 3 other Green Lanterns within the 5-year time span, the JSA never existed, while the Teen Titans never met until the books release, Superman has just appeared 5-years ago, is not married to Lois Lane, and possibly never was Superboy. That still does not address any of the Crisis events that may or may not have happened. At least the heroes aren’t wearing shorts on the outside right?
Understandably, DC Comics can do whatever the hell they want in order to drive sales and open their universe to new audiences but they need to make sure that their new initiative has a cohesive story continuity to stand on. In a 5-year time span, many of the fan favorite stories logically cannot take place as they are set up by various events or plots that are being wiped out of continuity. DCnU is both exciting and scary for fans and the comic industry as decades worth of art and writing are being re-interpreted to capture a new audience in an age where print is struggling.
