What Would You Do If You Had Complete Control Over the DCU?

[CaptCleghorn]

What would *I* do with complete control of the DCU?

Same as most fans, I suppose. Run the company into the ground by demanding that they print lots of books that only I want to read, and ignoring marketable and popular characters that I personally am not all that into.

Luckily for DC (and everyone who works there, and fans of characters I don't like!), and sadly for me, that will never happen.

So, yeah, good news for fans of Lobo. Bad news for the three of us who liked Kole or want to know more about Leeta 87 or Xera of Manna-5.

But that is what we do here. We do not come up with ways DC can sell more books. For that, I'd need to see better numbers, and a list of creators' rates and avaiablilities as well as any contractual information. Would the company thrive? probably not, but that's not the goal here.

[Kaijudo]

You've got all that backwards - Wally "borrowed" the following from Barry:

His costume
His cast
His villains
His history
His team - JLA
His larger DCU associations - teaming up with Green Lanterns, racing Superman, friendships with Elongated Man, etc.
The reporter girlfriend/wife thing

So that's all from Barry Allen. Pretty great character!

I see what you're saying, but I'd argue there's a big difference between cosmetics and character.

[Raijin]

I would keep Barry alive and active as a superhero. However, I would isolate him from main DC continuity so more attention would be shifted towards Wally. I'd have Barry either explore the multiverse or join the Legion of Suoerheroes.

I can accept this, to be honest. I just don't like when characters i dearly love are undermined.

[Agent Z]

- Give a bit more focus to DC's mystic based characters.

- Return fan favorites but make sure there is a good plan in place for them.

- Make sure continuity is respected but not a restraint.

- Use a mostly pre-Flashpoint universe but keep some elements of post-Flashpoint continuity.

- Keep Morrison and Johns away from anything WW related.

Same as most fans, I suppose. Run the company into the ground by demanding that they print lots of books that only I want to read, and ignoring marketable and popular characters that I personally am not all that into.

You mean like what DC is already doing?

[jetengine]

Some of the consistent things I see here.

1. Less shocking deaths
2. Editors doing their jobs
3. Well written continuity

I've always felt that DC should have an imprint purely for their noncape books (not vertigo thats their weird experimental adult line, a precursor of sorts to what Black Label should be). This is to focus on their War/Western/Fantasy books.

Another ongoing imprint for Out of continuity/Elseworld stories and a ongoing anthology book so DC can use their million different characters.

[Sutekh]

Pretty much what all these CBR threads devolve into - 70s/80s/90s fans who want to see DC try recreate their favorite era.

Yup. But since those fans-all-grown-up now run the company, we get a push-back on any 'newer' characters and a resurrection of the long-dead icons of their teenage years. Anything that smacks of change, like Wally becoming the Flash or 'Robin' outgrowing Batman's shadow and forging his own identity, or Roy similarly moving away from being 'Arrow Jr.' and becoming a grown-up and a parent is looked at askance.

Characters as old as Vixen or Booster Gold or Conner Kent are still 'too new' to break into the mainstream, while even newer characters like Bunker and Solstice are practically forgotten, in favor of more tales about characters introduced in the *thirties and forties* like Batman, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and a few more Batman titles, just in case. Nostalgia sells. Any company would be fools not to take that money.

Unless it's old characters *I* want to read about, like the All-Star Squadron/Justice League or the Legion of Super-Heroes, in which case, nostalgia is bad. Or 'newer' characters I like over the nostalgic choices, like Kyle or Wally or Roy, in which case nostalgia is good? So confusing!

[Photon Torme]

I can accept this, to be honest. I just don't like when characters i dearly love are undermined.

Id've left Barry dead, allowing him to keep his beautiful heroic Crisis on infinite Eart's sacrifice. Heroism is dangerous. Heroes give their lives saving others

[Raijin]

Id've left Barry dead, allowing him to keep his beautiful heroic Crisis on infinite Eart's sacrifice. Heroism is dangerous. Heroes give their lives saving others

There's nothing beautiful about dying. And besides, they only killed him off because his sales were tanking. I don't think i can be convinced. Sorry. I like reading about my faves being heroes and being ALIVE when they do it.

[SiegePerilous02]

Barry's death was better done than most and his successor being a classic Silver Age character with a long history and getting great writing made that transition more effective. But that's all small comfort to the Barry Allen fans who didn't get any new present day stories for two decades and had to hear about Wally always being the better character from certain circles.

There's nothing wrong with resurrecting Barry, but the way they went about writing out Wally and his family was really poor. Just having him retire to raise his kids and be pushed into the background while focus shifted to Barry, at least for a little while, would have been preferable. DC in general could stand to write out characters in more respectful ways to take the sting out sidelining them. They kind of sabotage their own attempts by going overboard with it. It's too early to tell, but it may bite them in the ass again with Wally and Roy.

[SiegePerilous02]

You've got all that backwards - Wally "borrowed" the following from Barry:

His costume
His cast
His villains
His history
His team - JLA
His larger DCU associations - teaming up with Green Lanterns, racing Superman, friendships with Elongated Man, etc.
The reporter girlfriend/wife thing

So that's all from Barry Allen. Pretty great character!

Also, having twins with his reporter wife/girlfriend. And wife getting attacked by the new Zoom.

Most of the iconic concepts and imagery we associate with the Flash came from Barry's tenure and continued to be used by Wally (who looks interchangeable with Barry to everyone but the most hardcore of fans when he's in the red costume). And as great as some of Wally's writing was, some of his best stories constantly have Barry's ghost looming in the background (the Return of Barry Allen- Wally's greatest moment is connected to Barry).

[Frostbite883]

reni: I am not trying to be harsh but I would say to those writers why write for the Big 2 then? You know when you sign on that continuity is a part of the landscape and is a key feature of Big 2 comic storytelling.

Me: Best to keep in mind that tight continuity don't have to be the end all, be all of every single comic book in any single comic company ('specially since strict canons weren't much of a thing with super hero comics from the beginning so it's really not a big deal if the DCU have a loose continuity or no continuity to it at all..let alone be something to lose sleep over).

[blunt_eastwood]

I would stop making print comics and move to an all-digital subscription model. People would be charged a flat monthly fee to read everything on release. This will get these stories out to the masses at a price that makes sense.

I would create a general history of the DCU with major events listed to give a sense of time passing and so that these events feel more significant. This will also motivate new readers to go back and read the stories that pertain to those events so that they are in the loop.

I would never do a reboot. And I would only do major crossovers once every 5 years. Again this is to give them some weight and significance.

I wouldn't do stories that significantly change the status quo in the mainstream continuity. If a writer wants to explore an idea, let them do the story in a separate imprint like Earth-0, Elseworlds, or Black Label. If it becomes really popular, fold it into the main continuity in a future crossover.

Have a clearly defined multiverse.

Bring back the DC message boards. Have a place where fans can discuss things.

[Vampire Savior]

I think the first t thing I'd is work toward the goal of not putting out floppies and making it so the bulk of my business wasn't done within the direct market. That's a total dead end.

I would work toward no longer having event comics. Or at least cutting them back by about 90%.

I would work toward no longer using variant covers.

What you would get from me would be so drastic you would definitely get a different age of comic books out of it, or the whole thing just wouldn't work, but the way I see it as that there isn't a lot to lose here considering the state of the industry, and it was going to happen anyway if someone didn't do something.

[Franny6422]

Great thread idea, but folk don't criticize too harshly people's ideas. Probably got some of my own, but we're fans not professionals and I imagine a lot of us' don't know how the market actually works. (Mine you' seems like Didio Doesn't either )

[Jackalope89]

First thing I'd do?

Steer away from all this grimdark crap. People are enjoying Doomsday Clock because despite its darkness, there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, with some very interesting interactions as well.

HiC, well, Harley Quinn magically getting the better of the Trinity. Need more be said?

While I do enjoy a good event, there's been far too many recently. Calm down, chill out, and finish up one thing first! Also, have the writers have some connection going on. It doesn't need to be strictly bound by what happens in other books, but some communication would certainly be nice.

Certain writers DO need some editorial oversight, if only to reign them in a bit or correct certain things.

Overall, switch to a more positive general tone as a whole. And what's more, DC is famous for its legacy characters. So stop throwing them under the bus! If there isn't an immediate plan for them, there are many, MANY better ways to put them into limbo than horrifically killing them off.