What has the New 52 done right?
DoctorDoom
Posts: 2,586
A good chunk of us, myself included, have listed the shortcomings and pratfalls of the 52 reboot. But surely some good stuff has come of it, right?
So in a poorly misguided attempt to be positive, let's have at it!
For me, I feel Batman has a better relationship with his Batfamily. He's not constantly shutting Alfred out, and even when it backfires, he tries to unite his Batfamily. Unlike in the past, where his consistent action was to push them away.
There's also a bit from Superman Unchained that I love - the fact that Batman wanted to destroy the Kryptonite in his possession, and Supes told him to hang on to it. I just love that trust.
Those are just some small examples.
So in a poorly misguided attempt to be positive, let's have at it!
For me, I feel Batman has a better relationship with his Batfamily. He's not constantly shutting Alfred out, and even when it backfires, he tries to unite his Batfamily. Unlike in the past, where his consistent action was to push them away.
There's also a bit from Superman Unchained that I love - the fact that Batman wanted to destroy the Kryptonite in his possession, and Supes told him to hang on to it. I just love that trust.
Those are just some small examples.
Comments
Here's my list:
Demon Knights - I knew going in this wouldn't last, but it was still a great ride and serves as the origin of Stormwatch/Authority/Shadowpact for me.
Batman - Snyder and Capullo hit it out of the park with nearly every issue. While I grew up with and still prefer the "Detective" Batman of Aparo and co., this was a darker, grittier Batman who had more internal struggles with his family, his city, and ultimately his identity...and I've been enjoying all of it.
Justice League - The pantheon + Cyborg. I enjoyed reading a series where a group of superhuman beings weren't inherently trusted by the people they intended to serve. The debut and Throne of Atlantis were both great storylines and while this may be a counter-argument to my point, Forever Evil was simply excellent.
All-Star Western - Great storytelling. Great artwork. I figured this one wouldn't last forever but it lasted much longer than I thought it would! And I'm thankful for that.
Batgirl - Gail Simone's run gave us something I never thought I'd see or want in a Batgirl book - darkness. And yet it worked. The Fletcher/Tarr version is great as well so far, but perhaps only because of what Simone set up before hand. Darkness before the light and all that...
Honorable Mention: Swamp Thing, Blackhawks (God bless 'em they tried to introduce something new to the DCU), Threshold (I may be the only person who'll admit to liking it) :)
This is probably right behind the Perez era for great Wonder Woman runs of the past 30 years.
Geoff Johns Aquaman run - he actually made a good Aquaman book and people cared about it. It built up enough momentum that they gave Aquaman a 2nd book.
Batgirl - @Torchsong said all that needs to be said about this.
I think one of the reasons why this book works so well is that it doesn't tie itself to any continuity except it's own. It references past characters and stories but supplies it's own backstory for them in it's own pages, so there's no confusion over whether this is pre-Flashpoint or New 52 or some other parallel universe. It simply exists and is a lot of fun.
With exception of the non-stop crossover event, the Lantern books (in particular GL and GLC) were generally enjoyable.
Agree with the Batman, All Star Western, Aquaman and Demon Knights shouts.
I also really enjoyed Animal Man and Vibe never got the accolades it deserved.
All in all there was some shite, but I think as a whole it's been underrated.
What I thought they did right was in their selections for the first wave; it was a wide and diversified choosing from the DC lists, covering almost every corner of their multiverse, from the established big guns (Superman, Batman, et al) to Wildstorm (Stormwatch, etc), covering genres like war comics and westerns as well as superheroes.
Of the titles themselves, well... I liked All-Star Western, Frankenstein, the Grant Morrison written Action Comics, and, surprisingly, Earth-2 and World's Finest (neither of which were of the 1st wave but turned in strong presences nonetheless).
But the rest were, to me, huge disappointments. I dropped Batman and Superman after a few months, the first time in decades that I wasn't following either character; I didn't like the new Justice League, and the constant dicking around with the various JLA titles didn't win me over either -- canceling Justice League International after only a handful of issues to make way for a new JLA title!? What's up with that!? And I sure didn't like the New52 version of Shazam. Other titles, like Firestorm and Phantom Stranger, excised the very elements that had made those characters interesting in the first place.
Also a killer has been the incessant BIG storylines and crossovers that have dominated DC since the New52 began. Now, I love the crossover events of the past, but come on, guys! Give us a break between them -- say, a year or two? And give us more short stories and done-in-ones! --and let's not keep rehashing the Big Events of past decades, like Crisis! Give us some NEW concepts already!
I could just go down a list of things I disliked about the New52, but I was planning on going to the movies this weekend. So let's just say that I consider it a failure that pretty much lost me as a regular reader. I haven't read or seen a single DC book in the past year, apart from a few freebies I'd picked up here and there, so I can't comment on the very recent stuff -- but I haven't yet seen or read anything that would entice me back in a big way.
Remember, the ask of *this* thread-- to distinguish it from those many other conversations we've had-- is that @DoctorDoom is asking for those bits of positivity to be found. The challenge he is giving-- knowing there is a lot of disappointment around the New52, to now give some space to talk about the things they got right (like the things you listed in the first half of your post, before the second half of your post reminded us of what you feel they got wrong.)
I still enjoy the fact that the New 52 didn't take a step backward....at least on Wayne's end. (they had Joker futz with it temporarily)
Grayson is very good.
That's it.
Is the New 52 even a thing anymore now that Convergence has concluded?
Hmm. We could try calling it The Newest 52. On second thought, that's too predictable.
Or N52ew? Too incomprehensible...
52 Skidoo? Too negative...
Perhaps Nu 52? Too 90's...
The Now 52!...no, that would probably lead to a lawsuit. :-?
Along with the comics, it's been great seeing DC Entertainment branch out into TV, animation, movies, etc. The New 52 was just one facet that helped bring about the Flash TV show for instance. So in that, I'm thankful! More because the reboot gave the company the jolt it needed. So kudos.
And I especially enjoyed the end.
Everything floats down here...