Continuity Corner: Should the New 52 race-swapping be addressed?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

With the DCU slowly, but surely, re-embracing its past, there are only a few puzzle pieces left missing after the New 52 reboot chucked most of it in the garbage. Since it's an 80+ year long continuity involving at least five different overhauls, obviously there will always be parts that never fit together nicely, but for the most part, it all works if you squint enough

The various resurrections of formerly deceased characters like Ted Kord brought about by the New 52 aren't really a problem because heroes & villains had been coming back from the dead for decades. Despite Blackest Night's valiant attempt to address this issue, the impermanence of death is unfortunately a staple of superhero comics. Besides, I don't think anyone is too upset by Ted Kord being alive again.

However, while most changes and tweaks made during the New 52 can easily be incorporated into their backstories or explained away by comic-y mumbo-jumbo like Rucka did with Azzarello's Amazons, the numerous incidents of race-swapping that took place during the New 52 are little trickier. Unless I am missing anyone, Wally West, Etta Candy, Morgan Edge, and General Eiling all became African-American as a result of the time shenanigans following Flashpoint.

Now, the black teenager Wally West was re-contextualized as the classic ginger Wally West's estranged cousin, both of whom were named after a common ancestor. A minor name change to Wallace West has since removed a lot of the potential confusion this may cause between the two, but this solution is not something that could ever work twice.

Of course, many people could easily say that this isn't a problem. That we should be colorblind and it makes no difference whether Etta Candy, Morgan Edge and General Eiling are black or white. I am not sure whether a lot of people would agree, as I found out when I've suggested in the past that previously white characters like Iris West and Lois Lane should retroactively become biracial. Iris is much better known through the TV show as a light-skinned black woman and Lois Lane's mother has never played any meaningful role in any story that I can remember, so why not make her Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, or Philipino in order to add some more layers to not only Lois, but her mother and her xenophobic military father.

What do you think? Does it matter that, for most of her history, Etta Candy was a freckle-faced big boned red head and now she's a freckle-faced big boned African American? I'm not sure if it makes any difference to Morgan Edge, who I believe had already dead during the Post-Crisis era, so being resurrected as a black man can be comic booked away. Prior to Flashpoint, General Eiling had gone full-on villain by assuming control of the Shaggy Man's body and become The General. Is there any way to reconcile that version of the character with the one we have now? Could he have transplanted his consciousness into the body of another man who happened to be black?

Or is the New 52 race-swapping something we should all ignore and just pretend they were always black? Is this another example of something us continuity obsessives should just squint at like we do with anything else that doesn't fit?

What do you think?

[Digifiend]

Considering Wonder Woman has had a few total reboots over the years, I think they'll just handwave White Etta as being the pre-Crisis version and Black Etta as being the modern one. Earth-2 and Earth-1 essentially.

If Eiling can body swap that's him justified straight away. Could Morgan Edge just be coincidental same name or mantle adoption (like Nick Fury Jr at Marvel)?

[Agent Z]

Probably best not to. The results may not be good and be worse than the race swap.

[jump]

There's also Helena Bertinelli too, I'm not actually sure which version is in rebirth now.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

There's also Helena Bertinelli too, I'm not actually sure which version is in rebirth now.

Yeah, I forgot about Helena Bertinelli. I believe Rebirth didn't actually restore any of her prior continuity and treated her as a new character meeting Babs & Dinah for the first time, but should her old continuity be re-established, I don't think it'll be much of an issue to explain her having a slightly darker skin tone.

[Midnighter]

Yeah, I forgot about Helena Bertinelli. I believe Rebirth didn't actually restore any of her prior continuity and treated her as a new character meeting Babs & Dinah for the first time, but should her old continuity be re-established, I don't think it'll be much of an issue to explain her having a slightly darker skin tone.

Since Rebirth started she hasn't had a darker skin tone. She could pass for Pre-Flashpoint HB.

[byrd156]

Probably best not to. The results may not be good and be worse than the race swap.

Why do it in the first place? Either way the "results" will be talked about and are still being talked about. This thread is evidence of that.

[MajorHoy]

For those changes that were already made but haven't already been undone in stories yet, best to leave those be. For Helena Bertinelli, since DC doesn't seem to be planning to go back COMPLETELY to 100% pre-New52 continuity yet, it doesn't need to be addressed.
But rolling forward from here on out, hopefully DC won't feel the need to suddenly alter the race/gender/sexual preferences of previously established characters. If they want to add characters exemplifying those traits that weren't as prevalent in past comic book stories, just create brand-new characters to do that. Don't just give the character an old character's name and pretend they always were that way.

[Aahz]

Yeah, I forgot about Helena Bertinelli. I believe Rebirth didn't actually restore any of her prior continuity and treated her as a new character meeting Babs & Dinah for the first time, but should her old continuity be re-established, I don't think it'll be much of an issue to explain her having a slightly darker skin tone.

At least based on the Origin they gave her in the Rebirth Birds of Prey series, she doesn't seem to be biracial.

[CaptCleghorn]

Since Rebirth started she hasn't had a darker skin tone. She could pass for Pre-Flashpoint HB.

Wasn't Helena Wayne masquerading as Bertinelli? And the pre Flashpoint Bertinelli was an Italian mob family so race IS important for that character. Is there any reason to believe Bertinelli wasn't Italian postFP?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

At least based on the Origin they gave her in the Rebirth Birds of Prey series, she doesn't seem to be biracial.

I am pretty sure, post-Doomsday Clock, they could retroactively give Helena Bertinelli her Italian Mafioso father back with an African-American mom. The difference in skin tone between Post-Crisis Italian-American Helena and New 52/Rebirth African-American Helena is not as obvious a change as we got with Wally West and Etta Candy.

[jetengine]

But rolling forward from here on out, hopefully DC won't feel the need to suddenly alter the race/gender/sexual preferences of previously established characters. If they want to add characters exemplifying those traits that weren't as prevalent in past comic book stories, just create brand-new characters to do that. Don't just give the character an old character's name and pretend they always were that way.

See I dislike this line of thinking because its whats trotted out everytime people talk about rebooted /legacy characters etc but its incredibly difficult to get new characters and series off the ground, even good ones get drowned out by the ten million Wolverine and Batman series.

If DC wanted to keep E2 Young Gay Alan Scott I'd just claim he's Alan Scott Jr and have him be his Child/Grandchild.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

No because i don't think there is a satisfactory way to do it. Best bet is to leave it alone.

[MajorHoy]

See I dislike this line of thinking because its whats trotted out everytime people talk about rebooted /legacy characters etc but its incredibly difficult to get new characters and series off the ground, even good ones get drowned out by the ten million Wolverine and Batman series.

You're talking about launching new characters in their own books. You don't have to do that to introduce new characters. First introduce then in already existing books, and if there's enough approval, then let them try to fly solo in their own series.
Yes, it's difficult to have new characters in new books compete with the likes of Batman and Wolverine, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. By that thinking, DC and Marvel should just give up and cancel all titles that don't feature a Batman or a Wolverine.

[Mutant God]

Helena B is sicilian and there are lots of dark skinned sicilians so sheres no problem with her.

Etta Candy - I would think it would be funny if theres was two different women both named Etta Candy that also friends with Wonder Woman, or maybe Circe put a spell on Etta turning her into a different race and weight class.