DC Universe Relaunch Guide

If you have fond memories of the 1990s then you probably remember WILDC.A.T.S., Gen13 and the Authority. If you don't, you're going to be surprised when classic characters like Grifter (think Batman/The Punisher with guns and the flimsiest "mask" ever) and Voodoo fall under DC's new "Edge" line.

The relaunch will see Stormwatch return in a Checkmate role, a secret global group that worked on a more political level than say the old JLA. Here, Martian Manhunter leads the charge and brings on Midnighter and Apollo, whom you may remember as the gay couple that was a direct answer to Batman and Superman. Now? We're in the dark about their "personal" status, but it'd be a bummer to see such established figures get their personalities destroyed in order to blunt history.

Oh and the Daemonites are back. They're the Wildstorm equivalent of a Skrull, due to their nature as being a writer's crutch; compared to White Martians, they're like puppy dogs with knives strapped to their body - deadly if you let them close.

We fear the end of "War of the Green Lanterns" caused one of the biggest WTFs in the history of the Green Lantern series. This is on top of Hal Jordan turning into a continuity-wide villain, Kyle Rayner's girlfriend becoming a refrigerated meme, and the fact that Mogo died. 

Sinestro is a Green Lantern once again. As "The Aftermath of the War of the Green Lanterns" wraps up, it seems like the Color Wars are far from over; there will be a new Red Lanterns series by Peter Milligan (X-Statix and the revamped Shade, The Changing Man).But again: Sinestro is a Green Lantern.

There are four books under the Green Lantern banner: the original (now starring, for the time, Sinestro); Green Lantern Corps (focusing on John "Planet Killer" Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kilowog and whoever else hasn't mutinied by this point), Red Lanterns and New Guardians.

The last one's a bit of a mystery but previews confirm: the Guardians of Oa are about to be taken down by Kyle Rayner. Now he gets to be notable for something other than being a refrigerator and getting nerfed as Ion.

Superman's not safe in this reboot folks. Grant Morrison's taking the reins back for what we can only hope is another type of All-Star run - the first major redesign of the iconic symbol of truth, justice and the American w -o h wait, didn't he not do that? Anyway.

When we first meet him in Action Comics, Superman is able to leap small buildings and run, but doesn't have the power of flight. Think of it like if Smallville suddenly became canon and Tom Welling got the last laugh after all. In George Perez's Superman, Supes is in armor, sans the classic red speedo; now everything's streamlined and sleek. There is a question about the the time divide between Morrison's Action Comics and Superman. It's up in the air for now -after all, Batman Inc., Morrison's follow up to the trippy "Return of Bruce Wayne" story arc is confirmed to return post re-launch, sometime next year.

 

The new DC Comics Universe won't be a hard reset, per se, but it will bring us a world cast in mystery. We don't even know where we are, or when. Batman has been in operation for a few years rather than decades, Superman is just emerging into the world and this summer's Flashpoint event will linger for a little while until we're ready for our next [Adjective] Crisis.