With DC's Rebirth coming up in a few months (as of this writing) it seems all I can do is sit around and wait and speculate as to what that means. At first, a lot of fans assumed it was the comics trying to be more like the movies and TV shows that they are based on. What I mean is that the assumption was the Justice League would look less like the image above and more like Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, and so on. To be fair, it's a safe assumption to make. After the success of the first X-Men film, Marvel changed their costumes to reflect the black leather worn in the film.
Eh . . . Close enough . . .
The same thing happened after the first Spider-Man film. Instead of Peter having web shooters that he built himself, the film had the webbing be a part of his mutation. The comics followed suit. I never really minded either of these changes but some fans get upset. I've never really understood why people get so upset about it. It's a cosmetic change. Now if the characters were to change from their personality, then yes that would bother me, but a costume change or secondary mutation is nothing really in the long run. And more often than not, it's temporary.
See? Back to normal (ish)
I mentioned before how when Rebirth hits, I'm hoping to see good, quality comics that reflect the current movies and TV shows. Green Arrow for example has been disappointing me lately, as has the Flash comic books. Now, I'm not saying that in order for the comics to be successful they should be the same as the TV shows or even have the same supporting cast. Honestly, that would defeat the purpose. That's what the tie-in digital comics are for. Even Geoff Johns has said as much. He doesn't want the comics to look like the shows or movies. I agree.
However, like I said with the X-Men and Spider-Man, it's not a bad idea to maybe have the comics, at least on the surface, LOOK like the TV shows or movies. After all, it is a business, and to sell the books to a wider audience, give them something they are a little more familiar with. Having said that (and probably dodging tomatoes being thrown at me), I'd like to elaborate on what I mean here:
JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE ROSTER
Not an uncommon practice in the comics, but let's see a Justice League comic book with the same characters featured in the upcoming film. This shouldn't be too difficult as each of these characters are already starring in the book. I'm not saying that it follows the movie's continuity, but it does feature the same roster. It's happened before. Marvel did the same thing when the first Avengers film was released.
For a DC post, this thing sure has a lot of Marvel pictures . . .
That comic was really good, successful, and even introduced Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy back into the Marvel mainstream. It didn't follow the movie's timeline, it was firmly in the Marvel comic universe. However, as you can see, it feature the same main six characters that starred in the movie. It was a great way to get audiences to buy a comic with characters that they recognized. It would be smart for DC to do the same thing. Have a new comic, starring the film's characters, that's a great jumping on point for the audience that's curious about the movie but doesn't want to buy a ton of back issues or graphic novels. Speaking of teams . . .
STREET LEVEL HEROES (KINDA)
It's really a dream come true when the Flash and Arrow crossover. Especially this past year, we got to see new characters like Hawkman and Hawkgirl team up with the heroes we are familiar with. I'd like to see a team up book or another Justice League comic reflect this type of crossover. We get a rotating cast of the characters that we see on TV in the comic books. Plus it's a way to get Diggle's Spartan character into the comics. Diggle has already been introduced, but his alter ego from Arrow has yet to debut. Diggle, like Harley Quinn before him, was created on a TV series and then brought into the main DCU. Diggle is actually my favorite character on the show, I'd like to see more of him in the comics. His backstory during Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow run was a little different than the TV show (as it should be) but he can still evolve into this character and join the other characters on their adventures.
The reason I say "Street Level" is because normally the Justice League is made up of powerhouses like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. In this case, we have characters with lesser powers like Hawkman/Hawkgirl, no powers like Green Arrow and Spartan, mixed with a powerhouse like the Flash. While the Justice League is fighting big ass threats like Darkseid, these guys are taking care of smaller, but still significant threats. Plus, it will give Black Canary a chance to shine with a team. During Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America run a few years ago, she was voted team leader and was great at it. That book helped make her one of my favorite female DC characters.
Oh my . . .
Speaking of the CW . . .
LEGENDS OF TOMORROW
I actually have two suggestions for this book. One is to have a tie in digital comic in the same vein as Arrow Season 2.5 and The Flash Season Zero. I'm sure it will be done but it's surprising to me that it has not been announced yet. Secondly, DC is releasing a comic titled Legends of Tomorrow but it doesn't actually feature this particular roster. I think that's a missed opportunity. The characters, despite some growing pains, actually work really well together and they are a lot of fun to watch. The show is fun and exciting, it makes sense to have a Justice League comic to back it up. Considering Rip Hunter, the Atom, and Hawkgirl haven't had much, if anything, to do in the recent DC stories, let's bring them back and exploit their popularity from the series. Plus the White Canary is a relatively unused concept and could be another case of Diggle/Harley TV/comic crossover. Sara Lance was a creation for Arrow and she became much more than just "Laurel's sister." Also Jefferson Jackson, Jax, is someone else that is not a comic creation, instead created for Legends and the Flash. Now again, this comic wouldn't have to follow the show's storyline or continuity, but I like having a companion comic to back up the show I'm watching. It makes me feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck. Or maybe I'm just greedy . . .
ARROW/FLASH - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
This is a bit of a cheat, since I kind of mentioned how I want the DC-CW characters to have their own book. However, I'd also be interested in a team up book featuring the Flash and Green Arrow. They are two characters that have never really interacted much in the comic books. Sure they hang out at Justice League meetings, but there's never really been a team up before. Given the huge ratings success that their crossovers have been, it seems crazy to try not to have them team up in the comics more often. Given that Oliver's personality is a little different in the series than in the comics, although he's evolving a bit more into the classic Green Arrow, it might not exactly be the same but it would still be fun right? I love reading books like Batman/Superman because you see how the characters compliment each other with their similarities and their differences. The crossovers have done a great job of highlighting why Oliver and Barry are good for each other. Barry learns he needs to be a little more ruthless and proactive while Oliver learns he needs to lighten up a little. Plus seeing these two characters with their vastly different skill sets is a lot of fun.
GOTHAM
Personally, I think this is the biggest shocker of all the series. When Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gained more of a following, the comics followed suit and put Coulson and May in the front of their own comic book teaming up with different Marvel heroes and villains. Now that Gotham is enjoying more success with it's second season, which in my opinion is a vast improvement over season one, I'd like to see DC bring back Gotham Central or something similar.
Gotham Central was a comic that featured several detectives and officers in the GCPD. It rarely featured Batman but instead had the "every day cops" dealing with Gotham's wacky and eccentric villains. It was extremely well written. As I said, I'm surprised DC hasn't tried to bring it back in some way to capitalize on the show. Although Gotham is more about the rise of the Bat-villains and Batman himself, a comic could still focus on the police and the way they handle the villains. Plus there's an added bonus:
In the current comics, Jim Gordon has suited up as a police-sanctioned Batman in the real Batman's absence. As of this writing, Bruce Wayne is making a comeback. However, I think it would be a waste to lose this new, cool, tough Jim Gordon. I don't think he was made into Batman because of Gotham. I think it was just because Scott Snyder loves Gordon and wanted to shake things up in the Bat-books. But why not keep it going? Have Gordon stay as a police sanctioned Batman helping the police solve crimes while Bruce is busy dealing with . . . Justice League shit or something.
Or ya know . . . Jim can be on the Justice League and Bruce can stay in Gotham. Whatever . . .
JUSTICE LEAGUE ALIENS
Now here's where it gets interesting. In Supergirl, it was heavily implied that Hank Henshaw would be revealed as the Cyborg Superman just like he was in the comic books. However, the showrunners took it in a different direction and gave us a legitimate twist with Henshaw's reveal as the Martian Manhunter, J'Onn J'Onnz. If you overlook the fact that he wasn't very "J'Onn like" in the pilot (chalk it up to a last minute change of ideas) this is actually really good news for DC fans. Martian Manhunter is one of their best characters although he is criminally underused in the comics. When the new 52 started, he was no longer a founding member of the Justice League, instead he was a part of Stormwatch. That comic did not last very long, but eventually J'Onn found a place with Justice League of America and later Justice League United (also featuring Supergirl). Like my Arrow/Flash suggestion, I think there is a lot to gain from a team up with Supergirl and Martian Manhunter. I stated in a previous post that I believe DC should release a new Supergirl comic soon, and I believe they will based on the Rebirth teaser image. However, I'd like to amend that slightly and say it would be cool if Martian Manhunter was a regular character in that book considering he's a co-star on her TV series. They have a great chemistry together and it would make sense to capitalize a little bit more on this relationship. It could potentially even lead into a Martian Manhunter spin off. Now THAT would be cool.
Anyway, these are my ideas on ways DC could really kick it up a notch with their comics. As I stated in my previous post about Rebirth, I think DC is on the way to getting back to what makes their characters great. The TV shows have proved that there is an audience and I'm sure, like me, lots of them are curious and maybe even a little greedy for more. So why not jump on that and give us some comics to compliment our favorite TV shows and upcoming films? It's only logical . . .
Till Next Time!
JJ - The Comic Junkie!
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