Year of The Villain- DC's 2019/2020 Initiative

[MajorHoy]

I'm disappointed that Batman Who Laughs will apparently survive his miniseries; I really don't want him to stick around and be cheapened even more than he already is. Especially with how Last Knight on Earth is coming out this year, it won't feel right to have a Snyder creation running around and not have that loose end be tied. But I guess DC can't kill their new golden goose now.

Maybe they should pair him up with Harley Quinn in a new book?

[Midnight_v]

While I think it is a great idea to focus occasionally on the activities of the villians of a story, if for nothing else than to define them and give them a greater gravitas to existence in the hero's story...

I'm not a big fan of the ones they're featuring.

[Robanker]

I'm disappointed that Batman Who Laughs will apparently survive his miniseries; I really don't want him to stick around and be cheapened even more than he already is. Especially with how Last Knight on Earth is coming out this year, it won't feel right to have a Snyder creation running around and not have that loose end be tied. But I guess DC can't kill their new golden goose now. I also hope that Bane's already-convoluted master plan doesn't engulf the rest of the superheroes, as foreshadowed at the end of the recent Batman/Flash crossover; he's not on that threat level. Looking forward to the Leviathan, Cheetah, and Luthor stories though.

Yeah, outside of a cool visual, he's a creative dead end. He's just evil Batman who is #cuh-razy and being pushed as some Mary Sue who will always win because, well, he's Batman.

He sucks. Whenever he shows up in a story, I generally put the book down because I lose all interest and it just becomes fanfiction.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

I thought most of the dark multiverse Batmen were way more interesting than the Batman who laughs. Particularly Red Death, Green Lantern Batman, Doomsday Batman and maybe the Cyborg one.

[WonderScott]

::likes the concept, but waits for the execution::

I love a good villain tale and characterization, so I'll remain optimistic for the time being that both will be delivered. Overall, I've been underwhelmed by Snyder's Legion of Doom. Not a ton of gripping or thrilling interpersonal characterization or relationship building between the LoD members unfortunately - just a lot of pushing of the plot, IMHO.

If you're going to play with the villains in a meaningful way, you've got to really dive into their psychology, culture, intellect, emotions, skills, limitations, etc. to produce any number of different types of supervillains. And that takes time - research, creative thought, logic, and emotion - to create, let alone pagetime/storytime to explore all this for the reader and build them up.

I think of Johns' excellent work with Black Adam or Sinestro or the Rogues as good examples.

Granted I don't know all the details of how they're going to make it the Year of the Villain in a satisfying and exciting way, but it's going to take more than some Faces of Evil covers, or Villains Month one-shots, or a poorly characterized Forever Evil miniseries, or two-page synopses/prologues in the beginning of other books.

I mean, I love the Crime Syndicate, but we got very little in-depth info or characterization about and for the villains that were the stars of the whole thing.

If they want to do the villains justice, they need to double down on telling their stories in a satisfactory and compelling and thrilling way alongside of (possible ahead of) their superheroes. That means the stories themselves and how they're presented.

Anyway, there are a lot excellent villains that deserve to be highlighted and (re)developed, because they're interesting and it'll make some characters outside of Luthor, Braniac, and the Batvillains the gloriously evil ones for once... Some of my nominees:

Maxima
Toyman
Circe
Cheetah
Grodd
Queen Bee
The Crime Syndicate
The Legion of Doom (actually giving all the characters a chance to be developed and create the LoD's goals)
The Secret Society of Supervillains (I'd write the Society and the Legion as being at odds with one another)
Felix Faust
The Masters of Disaster
The Fearsome Five
The 100
Despero
Doctor Destiny
Lady Styx

I mean, let some other villains breathe and gain some life again. It's worked magnificently in the Young Justice animated series, for the most part.

[allforgeeks]

An absolute kick arse variant cover for issue 1...

MAR190463_500.jpg

https://allforgeeks.com/variant-cove...n-500-variant/

[Hatut Zeraze]

Wake me up when The Thirst gets his Year of the Villain focus.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Yes, all of this. It’s a shame, but DC will always play second fiddle until it’s core base lets go of their Silver Age wank. Demoting Johns and pulling in his reins was a great first step though, and I’m confident in Bendis, King, and Didio and Lee’s ability to course correct the ship. Here’s hoping Wonder Comics and the new young adult imprints bring in new readers to age out the oldheads.

I'm perplexed. The reason we have Hal and Barry back at all is due to Didio wanting them back when he was EiC! Johns has, at the very least, been respectful enough to encompass all of DC history into his work.

[Somecrazyaussie]

I've tried, several times, to read their older comics.

I find them atrociously bad, either in style or stories. I don't see why I couldn't call them for what they are : boring stories, with boring characters.

I also find hilarious that you would say the part in bold, when Rebirther are always shat on New 52's versions, and push the bullshit that it tanked sales wise when Rebirth would do so great. Which is hardly the case, after what, two years and a half ?

All era's have good and bad points. I wasn't entirely big on New 52 when it happened (because many properties were setup for interesting directions that were derailed as a result.) But there were many aspects I did enjoy. If you enjoyed it, great. If someone else didn't enjoy it, that is okay as well. The world would be boring if we all agreed. But no era is without faults. That includes New 52 and Rebirth.

[HandofPrometheus]

"DC's YEAR OF THE VILLAINS #1 Brings on the Bad Guys"
https://www.newsarama.com/44721-dc-s...-bad-guys.html

[HandofPrometheus]

JUSTICE LEAGUE

"In DC’s YEAR OF THE VILLAIN #1 written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV with art by Jim Cheung, Lex Luthor has decided once and for all that heroism is a false dream and for man to ascend to his place in the universe, he must embrace his basest, most evil instincts. But this means making an incredible sacrifice to achieve his goal and gain the support of Perpetua, the first being to be imprisoned within the Source Wall, now freed from the events of DARK NIGHTS: METAL.

Beginning with June’s issue #25, Luthor’s plans begin to crystalize in a “prelude” story co-written by Snyder and Tynion with art by Javi Fernandez. In July, he makes “The Offer” to some of the DC Universe’s most noteworthy characters; he alone holds the key to them realizing their full potential. This kicks off an epic event taking over 2019, setting the stage for an all-out clash between the forces of Justice and Doom:

· July – Year of the Villain: The Offer
· August – Year of the Villain: Dark Gifts
· September – Year of the Villain: Evil Unleashed
· October – Year of the Villain: Doom Rising

Luthor’s influence spreads across the DCU with a select number of titles carrying a themed “Year of the Villain” banner featuring a haunting image of a Lex Luthor that’s more than he used to be. In addition, certain July issues will receive special “portrait” variant covers featuring characters to whom “Apex Lex” makes the ultimate offer. These covers will be printed on cardstock with minimal trade dress, presenting the art in a bold, dynamic setting and carry an increased cover price ($1 extra) over the standard version".

[HandofPrometheus]

ACTION COMICS/EVENT LEVIATHAN

"Beginning with the “Leviathan Rises” storyline in ACTION COMICS #1007, Brian Michael Bendis and Steve Epting continue to explore the DCU’s clandestine world of espionage and terrorism. The organization known as Leviathan continues to remove competitors from the playing field while its ultimate purpose (and the person behind it) remains unknown.

In DC’S YEAR OF THE VILLAIN #1, Batgirl and Green Arrow dive further into this mystery in a story featuring a moody style reminiscent of a spy thriller (courtesy of artist Alex Maleev), where offers are made and suspicions about the identity of Leviathan are raised. Fans can follow the ongoing mystery in ACTION COMICS #1010 (April 24), #1011 (May 11) and SUPERMAN: LEVIATHAN RISING SPECIAL #1 (May 29) before the DCU’s greatest sleuths and detectives join forces to thwart this full-blown threat as the six-issue EVENT LEVIATHAN miniseries begins on June 12".

[HandofPrometheus]

BATMAN: CITY OF BANE

"It’s going to be a long hot summer for the Dark Knight as well, courtesy of Tom King and Tony S. Daniel as “City of Bane” begins BATMAN #75, on sale July 17. This extra-sized anniversary issue kicks off a new multi-part storyline tying together all the threads of the first 74 issues of Tom King’s epic Batman run.

Bane’s minions have moved into Gotham City, taken control and rule with an iron fist; and they aren’t above rounding up any rogue villains that aren’t ready to get with the program. Meanwhile Batman is nowhere to be found – at least not the Batman that anyone knows. And if Gotham City is already under Bane’s thumb, what kind of offer can Lex Luthor make him, and will he accept"?

[HandofPrometheus]

Varient covers
https://www.newsarama.com/44722-dc-s...covers.html#s1

[Lirica]

In July, he makes “The Offer” to some of the DC Universe’s most noteworthy characters; he alone holds the key to them realizing their full potential.

For some reason this reminds me of something else. That's not really a knock on this event, but now it bothers me that I can't place what it reminds me of. I think it might've been another DC event, but I wasn't following it and only knew about it due to only reading a tie-in (if it even was considered one) from the GL series. I think it was from the 90s or earlier.