Why doesn’t DC use characters that have become popular in other media?

[Aahz]

Just look at Supergirl and Green Arrow. Their shows might be successful, but their comic books are not great sellers. With those two having already problems, the more obscure characters don't have much of a chance.

Another problem is that many of these characters are to different from their comic book counter parts, or just don't really fit because the setting in the comics is different.
Flash is in the comics a solo character, so you can't suddenly a ton of other characters in his book.
Green Arrow main love interest in the comics is Black Canary, so there is no need for Felicity.
Artemis is in the comics a completely different character, who is neither Asian nor related with Cheshire, and has noything to do with Green Arrow or Wally West. And is actually part of the JSA Franchise. And non of the realtions she has with other characters she has on the show really translate into the comics, since the Young Justice team from the doesn't exists and never existed in the comics.

[Vakanai]

I'd assume DC doesn't chase synergy to a greater degree because they know it doesn't actually work.

Look at all the comic characters to find success in larger media. From the MCU to the Arrowverse and everything else. And then look at the comic sales. Outside of a couple exceptions like Ant-Man and the GotG, larger media success doesn't seem to help comic sales. A movie will usually bring the floppies a short spike, the trades see a bit more.....there's not much benefit.

So why screw with the formula too much in an attempt to bring in an audience that won't bite?

DC does use synergy to a degree, and they have for decades. But chasing it too hard just isnt not really worth the effort, it seems.

Perhaps if publishers could advertise and market to really take advantage of that larger media success, it'd be different. But there's a lot of people out there who don't even realize comics are still published, despite all the movies and shows and games. And of all the people who go to MCU movies or never miss an episode of Supergirl, how many of them are going to be invested enough to look deeper, for more material? And of those people, how many of them will be turned away by the cost of floppies (its not a cost effective hobby) or find that there's no LCS in their area? That means they have to stumble into digital formats, which also don't get much advertising, or buy random trades found on Amazon, which doesn't offer much help in getting into the hobby.

I wish comic trades were sold right next to the DVD section of supermarkets, would really help things along.

[Jim Kelly]

If the DC Universe online site were more accessible (I can't even get it in Canada), then that would be a way for them to manage their synergy. If they had an archive of every movie and TV show and you could swipe the screen to get bonus features that take you to a digitial archive of all the comics and other media related to the characters in those shows--then people would be able to find more, if they wanted (and at no extra cost).

It's more likely this will be a feature for Marvel in the future, when Disney has their streaming service for everything and they become the masters of the universe.

[Lee Stone]

Just occurred to me that if they were Marvel, we'd be getting a new series with Gypsy, Steel, Vibe, Vixen, a recently created character that's popular with new readers (Naomi could be a contender) and two or three new characters.
Maybe even the Ryan Choi Atom.
Probably taking the Outsiders name.

Right now the former JLDetroit rookies are probably at their highest peak of popularity. And, aside from Vixen (who gained popularity when she got picked up for Suicide Squad) , it's mostly due to the CW shows.

Who would've ever thought we'd be talking about Vibe 30 years later?

[9th.]

Just look at Supergirl and Green Arrow. Their shows might be successful, but their comic books are not great sellers. With those two having already problems, the more obscure characters don't have much of a chance.

Another problem is that many of these characters are to different from their comic book counter parts, or just don't really fit because the setting in the comics is different.
Flash is in the comics a solo character, so you can't suddenly a ton of other characters in his book.
Green Arrow main love interest in the comics is Black Canary, so there is no need for Felicity.
Artemis is in the comics a completely different character, who is neither Asian nor related with Cheshire, and has noything to do with Green Arrow or Wally West. And is actually part of the JSA Franchise. And non of the realtions she has with other characters she has on the show really translate into the comics, since the Young Justice team from the doesn't exists and never existed in the comics.

They tried to use Felicity in the new 52 but she didn't catch on. She also used to be a Firestorm character iirc.

[Ascended]

I wish comic trades were sold right next to the DVD section of supermarkets, would really help things along.

Stocking trades and comics in the toy sections of retailers as well as in the electronics section where the movies are sold would be a big benefit, yeah. But the problem there is likely the retailers. I struggle to see Wal-Mart or Target agreeing to dedicate limited "shelf" space to comics in areas of the store that are usually have a higher value selling point. I mean, you could drop a spinner rack type of thing in that space.....or use that space to sell more video games and movies. You dont have to be a math expert to know which option is going to put more money in the retailer's pocket.

However, I doubt it would damage revenues *that* much if a quick add for comics (with a focus on the digital formats) were run at the beginning of movies and tv shows. That's a space usually sold to advertisers so it'd be a profit loss.....but it'd help the publishing side and maybe bring readers to those segments of the company, so perhaps it'd serve well as a loss leader?

[DrNewGod]

Outside of Synergy not really working for comic sales, it could be a lack of interest on the writers to use them. That explains why Vibe doesn't get a lot of play in Rebirth as writers could not be interested in him or just have other characters they want to use more.

Interesting. I wonder if writers are less interested in adapting somebody else's character interpretation (absent an editorial mandate) than in trying to develop something that gets adapted to other media in hopes of a royalty?

[Frontier]

Just occurred to me that if they were Marvel, we'd be getting a new series with Gypsy, Steel, Vibe, Vixen, a recently created character that's popular with new readers (Naomi could be a contender) and two or three new characters.
Maybe even the Ryan Choi Atom.
Probably taking the Outsiders name.

If we're going by synergy, then Ray would probably get the Atom book (although Ryan made a comeback in Injustice 2).

[Robotman]

This is no harm no foul topic, I mean Cisco is supporting character, Artemis is supporting character ,Heatwave is supporting character. DC can change them just fine. Lets not pretend that some of stuff doesn't bleed over like Arrow look, I think Killer Frost is a hero now, Aqualad Jackson Hyde looks like Kaldur from Young Justice etc. If you are looking for DC to push these characters as main character then obvious answer that audience does transfer over as well companies want and companies really don't have interest in new pushing newer stuff unless they for sure thinks it is going to move units. Which at time means they miss on things that can work or don't put in enough effort to make thing work(looking at you nu52 static)

Out of all character mention Vibe has the best chance of transitioning from side character to main character considering he has kinda been one before. I think they solve the main problem of his personality (poweset and costume as well) on the flash show and now they just need to capitalize on it in the comics. That said they do need to put in some work in the comics of building up him and flash relationship. They should have a Green Lantern/Flash style friendship. Vibe could spin out of flash with sneak couple of flash's villains for his gallery and reverse the flash relationship for some stability in a vibe book.

The next character who I think would work Felicity in Green Arrow I know they tried but call her Oracle since they don't want use Batgirl in the role and let the magic happen. She is perfect side character "who can be the man in the chair" for a street level character.

I think they are doing a good job with Killer Frost but she already show up in JLA America so they already recognize what they have in her. DC can obvious support another Justice league book so characters Black Canary, Vibe, Mr Terrific, Gypsy, Vixen, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Supergirl, Killer Frost, Atom, Blue Beetle, Firestorm, Cyborg etc. With the right creative team and right amount of nostalgia they can do Justice League adjacent team that should have success. I mean the current Justice League is hitting up a bunch of cosmic level stuff now who is protecting the world when they are running up to the Source Wall? Call it JL elite? JL Detroit? JL America? JL International? Something should work

Artemis- Is going to be stuck behind of Emiko Queen or is reductant kind of with her around.

Commander Steel- Like Superman and Batman clones at Marvel,It is harder for concept to work without the respect factor in the universe. As good as you make Nighthawk and Sentry ,Marvel has Spiderman,Iron Man, Cap America,etc filling role of important heroes and it doesn't work as well without the respect. Commander Steel can work but he has Superman size c*ckblocker for patriotic and important role in stories .

Firestorm- just needs some TLC and patience from DC.It doesn't matter who is at wheel.

Heatwave- would need some major reworking to make him the one from the show.I personally don't think he is all that great even though I enjoy him on the show.

I definitely don’t have any delusions that these mid level characters can carry an ongoing. Unless of course they have an all star creative team attached. But I would just like to see DC use some of these characters used in supporting roles at least. They definitely shouldn’t be clones of their tv or movie selves.

I think DC should at least try to build on a character’s success. Maybe some of them will get some momentum and DC will have a little more variety.

[Jim Kelly]

I imagine if a new character is created in a show (live action or animated), the ownership rights belong to that production company (in whole or in part). That could complicate usage in the comics, if DC has to pay money to them for the use of said character. Of course, if they are all just departments under the WB umbrella, it might not matter that much as it's simply money being moved around--but perhaps those accounts are examined by the bean counters to show which department is more profitable.

And I wonder about those characters that have been cannibalized from the comics. Sara Lance is original in that she was created for the Arrowverse, but she's also a former Black Canary and current White Canary, which are comics characters. So if she appears in the comics, does DC have to get permission from the CW or Berlanti?

[Frontier]

I definitely don’t have any delusions that these mid level characters can carry an ongoing. Unless of course they have an all star creative team attached. But I would just like to see DC use some of these characters used in supporting roles at least. They definitely shouldn’t be clones of their tv or movie selves.

I think DC should at least try to build on a character’s success. Maybe some of them will get some momentum and DC will have a little more variety.

Yeah, I don't think DC needs to release a deluge of ongoing books but I think it would behoove them to open their line up to more variety and diversity with characters that have a modicum of popularity and representation in outside media.

At the very least I don't think Vibe should be in limbo for as long as he has, and they could definitely do more with Firestorm.

[Agent Z]

This is no harm no foul topic, I mean Cisco is supporting character, Artemis is supporting character ,Heatwave is supporting character. DC can change them just fine. Lets not pretend that some of stuff doesn't bleed over like Arrow look, I think Killer Frost is a hero now, Aqualad Jackson Hyde looks like Kaldur from Young Justice etc. If you are looking for DC to push these characters as main character then obvious answer that audience does transfer over as well companies want and companies really don't have interest in new pushing newer stuff unless they for sure thinks it is going to move units. Which at time means they miss on things that can work or don't put in enough effort to make thing work(looking at you nu52 static)

Out of all character mention Vibe has the best chance of transitioning from side character to main character considering he has kinda been one before. I think they solve the main problem of his personality (poweset and costume as well) on the flash show and now they just need to capitalize on it in the comics. That said they do need to put in some work in the comics of building up him and flash relationship. They should have a Green Lantern/Flash style friendship. Vibe could spin out of flash with sneak couple of flash's villains for his gallery and reverse the flash relationship for some stability in a vibe book.

The next character who I think would work Felicity in Green Arrow I know they tried but call her Oracle since they don't want use Batgirl in the role and let the magic happen. She is perfect side character "who can be the man in the chair" for a street level character.

I think they are doing a good job with Killer Frost but she already show up in JLA America so they already recognize what they have in her. DC can obvious support another Justice league book so characters Black Canary, Vibe, Mr Terrific, Gypsy, Vixen, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Supergirl, Killer Frost, Atom, Blue Beetle, Firestorm, Cyborg etc. With the right creative team and right amount of nostalgia they can do Justice League adjacent team that should have success. I mean the current Justice League is hitting up a bunch of cosmic level stuff now who is protecting the world when they are running up to the Source Wall? Call it JL elite? JL Detroit? JL America? JL International? Something should work

Artemis- Is going to be stuck behind of Emiko Queen or is reductant kind of with her around.

Commander Steel- Like Superman and Batman clones at Marvel,It is harder for concept to work without the respect factor in the universe. As good as you make Nighthawk and Sentry ,Marvel has Spiderman,Iron Man, Cap America,etc filling role of important heroes and it doesn't work as well without the respect. Commander Steel can work but he has Superman size c*ckblocker for patriotic and important role in stories .

Firestorm- just needs some TLC and patience from DC.It doesn't matter who is at wheel.

Heatwave- would need some major reworking to make him the one from the show.I personally don't think he is all that great even though I enjoy him on the show.

YJ Artemis is different enough from Emiko.

Commander Steel doesn't have to be as important as Superman or Batman.

[Aahz]

Just occurred to me that if they were Marvel, we'd be getting a new series with Gypsy, Steel, Vibe, Vixen, a recently created character that's popular with new readers (Naomi could be a contender) and two or three new characters.
Maybe even the Ryan Choi Atom.
Probably taking the Outsiders name.

They did something like this with the last run of "Justice League of America".

Right now the former JLDetroit rookies are probably at their highest peak of popularity. And, aside from Vixen (who gained popularity when she got picked up for Suicide Squad) , it's mostly due to the CW shows.

The problem is just that most of the CW-charcters are completely different from their JLDetroit counterparts. In case of Vixen it is not even supposed to be the same character.

[Lightning Rider]

I'd assume DC doesn't chase synergy to a greater degree because they know it doesn't actually work.

Look at all the comic characters to find success in larger media. From the MCU to the Arrowverse and everything else. And then look at the comic sales. Outside of a couple exceptions like Ant-Man and the GotG, larger media success doesn't seem to help comic sales. A movie will usually bring the floppies a short spike, the trades see a bit more.....there's not much benefit.

So why screw with the formula too much in an attempt to bring in an audience that won't bite?

DC does use synergy to a degree, and they have for decades. But chasing it too hard just isnt not really worth the effort, it seems.

Perhaps if publishers could advertise and market to really take advantage of that larger media success, it'd be different. But there's a lot of people out there who don't even realize comics are still published, despite all the movies and shows and games. And of all the people who go to MCU movies or never miss an episode of Supergirl, how many of them are going to be invested enough to look deeper, for more material? And of those people, how many of them will be turned away by the cost of floppies (its not a cost effective hobby) or find that there's no LCS in their area? That means they have to stumble into digital formats, which also don't get much advertising, or buy random trades found on Amazon, which doesn't offer much help in getting into the hobby.

Yeah, I'd say that it would take a marketing and creative distribution strategy to make it pay off. I think the opportunity is there, though. People talk about giving out/selling floppies at movie premiers, things like the Wal-Mart deal, and there are plenty of other untapped strategies. But perhaps the parent companies just don't appreciate the benefit of the original source material persisting to exist. It's everything else that brings in the bulk of their money.

[j9ac9k]

And of course, the "Doom Patrol" just hit the airwaves but they don't have a book on the stands. That's one property that I think could co-exist with the tv show since the show and the comics are takes on Morrison's work.

I am glad that the trades are out though - in terms of crossover fans, when my nephew gets into a super-hero movie, I'll give him the comics to read (because reading is fundamental...) and he understands they're different, but he can get into it anyway.