The New 52 - A Reader's Assessment: Part 2

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With the wrap up of the New 52 roll-out, there are a number of good (and bad) books out there.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

The No Tights, No Flights Book of the New 52 

Superman Action Comics focuses on an earlier time in Superman’s career.  Like Smallville, This Superman has the vaguest semblance of a costume, and actually has to leap tall buildings in a single bound instead of just flying over them.

Did He Just Say What I thought He Said Moment of the New 52

A bit onf a controversy stirred from Action Comics as some thought Superman was… how should I put this delicately… taking the Lord’s name in vain.  He wasn’t.

Best Back-Up Story of the New 52

While I actually liked the Sargeant Rock story in Men of War, it was the back-up story, Navy SEALS that stood out in the issue for me for its gritty realism (at least, as far as I can tell being non-military).

What Happens When?

A running concern for the New 52.  Some books are set in the present day DC Universe, some are not.  Obviously, books like Legion of Super-Heroes, All Star Western, and Demon Knights are obviously set in other times.  But other books seem to fall into a sliding time scale.  Justice League is clearly set 5 years ago (the caption gives that one away).  But other books are a bit more difficult to peg down.  Action Comics is set roughly 6 months after Superman comes to Metropolis, and it is definitely set prior to Justice League since Superman is wearing his armored costume.  Other books are not quite so clear.

The Old Version Was Better Book of the New 52

In JSA/Justice Society of America, Mister Terrific was the third smartest man, a business owner, and a capable leader of the Justice Society.  In Mister Terrific, he is still all of this.  But, this version just does not seem to click as well as the previous version.

Speaking of Previous Versions…

The Savage Hawkman brings Carter Hall into the new 52, along with a mystery dealing with what the nth metal actually is.  The problem is that there is no way of knowing which Carter Hall this Hawkman actually is.  Is he the golden age Hawkman?  With the Justice Society, and all the characters connected with it shuffled off to “Not Part of the New 52″ world, that does not seem likely.  Yet, he does not appear to be the silver age Katar Hol Hawkman either.  Nor does he seem to be any of the other bazillion different versions of Hawkman either.  So, just who is this Carter Hall/Hawkman anyway.

So Why Him Book of the New 52

Captain Atom was not a bad book, but it was not all that great either.  It just made me wonder why this character was picked to have his own title over other characters like Booster Gold, Peacekeeper, The Question, or even Martian Manhunter.

Speaking of Martian Manhunter…

Stormwatch was quite interesting.  It seems like the right team for a still in hiding Martian Manhunter to be a member of, working behind the scenes to defend Earth from any threat that may arise.

Not as Bad an Idea as I Thought

Dick Grayson has been known by many aliases, Robin, Nightwing, Batman.  It was only as Nightwing did he really make his own name for himself.  Thus, reading Nightwing I realize that it is not necessarily a bad thing that Grayson is no longer wearing Batman’s cap and cowl.

The Wait, What I Miss Book of the New 52

Birds of Prey establishes itself as Black Canary’s team, rather than one that was assembled by Oracle.  That’s fair enough.  But, did I miss something?  Why is Black Canary wanted for murder?  Is this something that will be explained, or did I miss something in the old Birds of Prey title?

Wait, Weren’t They…

Stormwatch depicts the first meeting between Apollo and Midnighter, which implies that they are not a couple, at least, not yet.

Does That Mean She’s Dead? 

In Batwoman, Kate Kane is seen looking at a frame filled with a number of pictures of police officers.  One of these officers is Renee Montoya, who would eventually become the new Question in the former DC Universe.  There is the implication that Kane is looking at a memorial plaque for fallen officers.  If this is indeed the case, does that mean that Montoya is dead?

Where’s The Laughter?

From the look of things, the New 52 is a very serious world without a single “Bwah Ha Ha” to be found.  Would it have been too much trouble to release a title that leans a bit more to the lighter side of the DC Universe?  I’m not looking for a flat-out comedy book, just something along the lines of the classic Justice League from the 1990s.

Related articles

• DC 52 Timeline Help (ask.metafilter.com)
• A Guide to the Likely Hits and Probable Stinkers of DC Comics’ 52 New Super-Hero Comics [Comics] (kotaku.com)
• The DCnU and You (nerdist.com)