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

[Buried Alien]

The way the original question was worded does not imply that we'd be under any obligation to make DC prosper financially. I read it as an open invitation to do whatever we wanted, whatever the consequences.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Lee Stone]

Pretty much everything Geoff Johns has done is fanon. Killing Flash's mother? Making Lex Luthor Superboy's human donor? Are you going to argue that's not personal bias? New 52 was Dan Didio's personal fanon. Hell, go back to John Byrne's reboot of Superman over 30 years ago. All personal biases.

Agree.
While there is an element of personal bias in every writer's work, some of the stuff you mentioned was more about making a mark on the characters or universe that people would look back and say 'X did that. All hail X.'
New52, in particular, was more-or-less a vanity project greenlit out of desperation.

[Lee Stone]

The way the original question was worded does not imply that we'd be under any obligation to make DC prosper financially. I read it as an open invitation to do whatever we wanted, whatever the consequences.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

True...
Here's a refresher.

...what you would do if you had complete power over the direction of the DC Universe? What editorial policies would you enforce? What crossovers would you have? What creative teams would you put on each character?

[Raijin]

I think I would have characters age. There's really no problem with that. As much as I don't like Tim Drake, it boggles my mind how he's still a kid. Raven, Kon and Gar should have grown up a long time ago. But they are victims of regression sadly.

[LordUltimus]

No continuity. Every book takes place in its own universe. Everyone can refer to any story that they want, but that is entirely their prerogative. Crossover minis are also their own universes/multiverses.

[byrd156]

And this is why fans should NOT have a say-so in anything. Most of these ideas wouldn't work and just boil down to personal bias.

Honestly I would just create more OGN's, more weeklys and more maxiseries.

The current heads of DC are the perfect example of why unchecked personal bias is bad. Everyone is biased whether they love a character, don't really care or dislike certain characters. Whoever is in charge needs to have a firm understanding and respect for the universe and the characters that inhabit it. That is sorely lacking and has been for over a decade now.

[Timothy Hunter]

And this is why fans should NOT have a say-so in anything. Most of these ideas wouldn't work and just boil down to personal bias.

Not relevant. The ideas of the posters don't have to be realistic. After most of the people contributing to this thread don't even work in the comic industry so they wouldn't have experience with the company of politics and beurocracy that a writer would have to go through to have an idea of theirs to come to fruition.

This is all for fun.

The way the original question was worded does not imply that we'd be under any obligation to make DC prosper financially. I read it as an open invitation to do whatever we wanted, whatever the consequences.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Bingo.

[Clairaudient Freedom Soldier]

My ideas (Part 1)

1> Restart with 9 titles: each title has 32 pages of story per issue with 6 issues released per year. The price of a single issue is standardized at $3.30 US.

2> Use Instagram to circulate no cost 3-4 panel comic strips with background music that complement the main titles: connect with a younger audience (e.g., 14-to-22-year-olds) and show them a sample of the product.

3> Host low cost parties for promoting the titles with a focus on attracting a younger audience: the cost of one ticket is $13 US with a 15% discount if the attendee brings at least 2 people with her or him, partner with local comic book shops, and provide simple refreshments.

4> Make amends with Alan Moore, so he can write for DC again: In regard to the 9 titles for phase 1, 3 will be co-written by Moore & Warren Ellis, 3 will be co-written by Moore & Ta-Nehesi Coates, and 3 will be co-written by Devin Grayson & Myisha Haynes.

Next: Part 2 - The Characters!

[CaptCleghorn]

I wouldn't; I couldn't. My thought is that one person running everything and setting plots, ideas, and characters limits your variety and diversity of characters and stories.

Find someone to run Batman, someone else to run Superman. Another person (I'm looking at James Robinson) for JSA, Jonathan Hickman on Legion. Each major franchise would be directed by someone different.

Justice League would be a series of minis, each potentially unrelated to the others and some overlapping.

My main focus would be to get each book and each franchise supporting itself and not worrying about how each book fits into and plays well with the DCU in general.

[Lightning Rider]

I recognize that drastically interrupting creator visions and general trends for my own enjoyment would hurt the execution so there would have to be a balance. But I'd be setting general rules and principles rather than hardline story edicts.

My first step would be to let immediate story arcs play through as quickly as possible, but then sit down with each writer and ask them what special story or layer of the character do they want to explore? What ideas do they have that both honor what the character is but put them in new interesting contexts? I'd push the writers to not just write a "fun decent run" but challenge them to create a defining run on the character.

As a result, I'd discourage certain things. Creating new forgettable villains(think recent Flash's many one-time speedster villains), adding new dimensions or rules to people's power sets (think strength force, the rainbow lanterns) , killing characters for shock value (sanctuary ffs), and setting up cliche arcs (later Titans) would be a hard no. Instead, use an established villain in a new way, or if you create a new villain, the story better justify it (think Court of Owls). Aim big with your story, take some risks, but only make permanent changes if editorial and fellow writers think it can work. If a death has to happen, make it thematic and meaningful. If someone's death is a red herring, make it intrinsic to the story (think the Hawks and others in Blackest Night).

I think it would also be a good idea to make every character accounted for. Too many neglected, forgotten, mishandled, and sidelined characters. Not every character can star all the time, but at least allow appearances to make them accounted for in the DC universe. It would help to have creators have control of not just titles and characters but corners of the Universe and families.

The tricky thing would be having the JLA as the flagship title. They should be memorable and impactful stories but not interfere with individual continuity.

The goal is to essentially make every line great. Bendis seems to be doing great on the Superman Books. King on Batman is divisive but at least he went for something a little different. His Mr. Miracle is incredible and should be an example for all other books to follow. Hawkman is starting slow but strong. Aquaman is in a solid direction. Deathstroke is also a perfect example of covering new ground while reinforcing everything that defines the character.

The Flash, the missing JSA, and Titans need the most work. Snyder also seems to be dropping the ball on JL, but I haven't been reading it myself. GA and Nightwing were stuck in a kind of half good half bad "back to basics" rut before I dropped both. I heard similar things about Wonder Woman. I was enjoying The Terrifics at first but it's too generic and a good example of a decent idea that simply wasn't given enough push to be memorable or unique.

Also, events should feel earned, the stories themselves should be rewarding both as a journey and in the ultimate payoff. Less of them is good, and when they happen, they should be better than how Sanctuary is shaping up/

So yeah, I'd keep a lot of the good but tighten up the mediocre or bad and go for important stories. These characters are too rich to let flounder.

[Robanker]

I would focus on what I could put into the universe to make it more interesting to read, not what I could take out. If something doesn't fit for whatever reason, find a way to make it work or just don't tell stories about it until we have one worth telling.

If DC doesn't want Wally around, bring his family back and push him into retirement. Maybe he has to trade his speed for them. Barry could then look up to his former protoge who surpassed him for an interesting flip or circumstances. Etc.

I don't want to sit here and discuss my personal fanon because that would work for me alone, but as an approach, additive is the way to go. Is there a point of critical mass? Sure, but if Marvel has that many X-Men and Spiders, DC can juggle their Lanterns, Bats and speedsters. Have some retire when they've their coarse. They can come back when needed or pop up in semi retirement. How many people grew to love Jay in Wally's Flash run that never picked up a JSA book? I imagine a lot.

[married guy]

First thing I'd do would be EMBRACE the DC legacy characters!
They're what makes DC different to Marvel

JSA
Teen Titans
Titans
Infinity Inc.
The Legion

Bring back the back up features!

Detective
Action Comics
Flash
Green Lantern
All would have a back up feature.

Standard issues are ALL $2.99!
Any title with a back-up feature - $3.99 for the extra 12 page story

Then I'd open the doors to any writer & artist interested in taking a swing at any of the books they like with the editorial mandate to LEAVE THE TALENTED PEOPLE TO DO THEIR JOBS!!
Editors are there to keep things running smoothly, but NOT to dictate how stories are presented.

[Killerbee911]

If I was in charge bring back the changes of Nu52 with about 30 books because going with modern approach was the right answer imo. Then launch a Earth 2 imprint(with 5 or 6 books) with old school vibe to it with either Justice League cartoon or Young Justice Cartoon as the base. The only question for me which tone is right for DC overall to tell you the truth I don't know but we have the simple lesson that company can support two different tones at the same time even if it is the reverse 5 books in Nu52 tone and 40 books with another tone.

[failo.legendkiller]

Fire Dan Didio!!!

Then restore in canon everything happened before Flashpoint.

I'll have two dynamic duos, Bruce-Tim and Dick-Damian.

I'll give room to every generation of heroes:
1) JSA
2) Justice League
3) Titans
4) Young Justice
5) Teen Titans

No more darkness and tragedy if not necessary, bring back hope, legacy and everything made great and distinctive DC in years.

[Restingvoice]

No more deaths. We know this company is selling icons, so stop pretending you're going to make a permanent development. More importantly, every characters are heroes to someone. If they don't sell well, just transfer them as a supporting cast to another book, or put them on a bus to another town, and don't crash the bus.

No main character should have to follow another main character's story. They each will only affect their own world and supporting cast unless everyone's on board with a crossover and have enough time to finish their story. In other words, respect every creator.

If you want to have continuity then keep things consistent. Have a wiki readily accessible and update to all authors. No secrets between authors and don't just greenlight an inconsistent idea just because it sounds good. Those go to Elseworld.