DC The New 52

Dear Wal,

We all knew this was coming. As everyone else, I have my problems with the relaunch. Here goes.

Stuff I Don't Like

Why? Why was one of the most complex, interesting characters in the DC universe reversed? Oracle has always been one of my favorite characters, and a part of my Batman world since the beginning. Even more so than Batman, she uses her mind as a weapon and she has to find creative solutions around her disability. Plus, let's face it, Batgirl is a pointless character, introduced to make the Batfam even more complicated and overcrowded than it already is. Oracle functions much better on the Bat-team than Batgirl-she's always in the background, using her skills with computers to get information on the latest baddies or keep an eye on a crisis situation from a third point of view while Bruce and the rest get out there and kick some butt.
What does Barbara's return as Batgirl mean for Cass and Steph? Are we going to have yet another set of spin-off Batman vigilantes to go with Tim and Dick?

This costume, however awesome and sleek it is, doesn't speak king of the seas to me. I prefer the long blonde hair and the hook from the 90s because it reminds me of Poseidon. Yes, the Greek god. If you're going to be king of the seas, you may as well look the part.

I don't think that J'on should have been cut out of the Justice League. He's a minor superhero, the least popular on the team, but he has been in the JLA since it's inception. I'm talking post-crisis, even before Bats and Supes. He's one of the core members of the team, one of the original seven, and he should remain as such. His absence form the League makes me wonder, will we see him at all in this new, relaunched universe? I'm sure most fans won't miss him, considering he never really had his own series and the only place he ever really shined was in the League, but I sure will.









Stuff I Like

Despite J'on's absence, I'm glad the Justice League is starting completely over from scratch. A definite origin is a serious improvement over the contradictory stories in the pre-relaunch universe, and hopefully this time JLA continuity won't get quite so muddled. I like the costumes better as well (all save Aquaman's). Wonder Woman actually has pants! Although her costume still isn't quite as Amazonian as I would like, it's a definite improvement over the bathing suite.




Stuff I Wish Had Changed

I read up to R.I.P and stopped. I couldn't stand to go any further in the recent comics. At the time, I didn't like the idea of Dick as Batman, but now I realize that it wasn't just that. I know how Bruce died, zapped by Darkseid in Final Crisis, and I think Morrison couldn't have picked a worse 'death' for Bruce. Bats facing down Darkseid is always a good show, but in this case I think we could have done without. If you're going to kill Bruce, kill him, don't send him back in time and then on a ridiculous journey back to the future.
I haven't read Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne but I think I might just to see Bruce as a pirate.
Maybe Morrison was trying to bring back the spirit of the Silver Age comics-that was evident in R.I.P. and it worked extremely well in that book, but I still wish Final Crisis had never happened. Or at least, that Bruce had actually died, then we would've had Dick as Batman and one less robin.



Anyway, those are my grievances. Needless to say, even though I'm slightly ticked off by a few things, I'm excited to see where all this is headed.

/endrant