The solicitation of DC’s Wonder Woman #15 (shipping in December) promises the return of Orion and more New Gods behind him (good thing) and that major changes are ‘coming to Wonder Woman and the entire DC universe’.
Erm, excuse me? Aren’t we still trying to figure out what the current face of the DCU is?
Now, don’t get me wrong. As regular readers will attest, I am never averse to the use of Kirby characters and any offerings that keep them ‘current’. Nor would I be averse to them making a brief home in Diana’s title; to me it seems like a natural symmetry.
But when the entire universe has only just been rebooted a little over a year ago, are we still not in the process of establishing the current status quo? After all, one year is but a drop in the ocean in the seven-plus decades of DC history. They have done a phenomenal job of integrating the WildStorm stable of characters into the universe, which admittedly seems to have changed the universe to a far greater extent than previous mergers such as Fawcett or Quality (but then again, we do live in a different age now). I would love to say that the inclusion of Milestone or Red Circle was as momentous, but the Milestone characters do not seem to have held the spotlight, and the Red Circle attempt was aborted way too prematurely. I understand that Archie Comics wanted their toys back, but c’mon! What better manner to both honour the characters and ensure their longevity than including them in the DC stable?
On the note of Milestone however, I would love to see a Storm Watch/Shadow Cabinet storyline, or maybe Blood Syndicate/Ravagers or Teen Titans. Heck, just bring back the Blood Syndicate already!
My main issue here is hyperbole. Crisis On Infinite Earths changed the face of the universe. As did Infinite Crisis and Flashpoint. On the opposing team, I think only the Civil War could compete with that, and maybe the current Avengers vs. X-Men. There is a certain point where we do not want our universes to ‘be changed forever’, we want to get to know them and explore them as they stand. Change can be instant, but means more when a little slower and incremental.
Still, not even the New Gods could ‘change the universe entire’. Let’s parse this. Change the universe? Been there, done that, at least three times. We know what change the universe means, and it doesn’t mean just one title.
Nor do we have much faith in any such new developments having any shelf life. The market is different, driven as much by figures (understandably) that now give the freedom to wipe the slate clean at will.
I like to see a good shake up as much as the next man, but let’s be reasonable now! The DCU is still in a state of change, and large claims do very little to impress me.
Still probably gonna buy it though. New Gods Rule!
My recommendation for today? DC Universe #0.