DC 5G: the Replacements

[Pohzee]

I mean, but based on the new timeline Cyborg isn't even a founding member anymore, right? What would he have to teach.

Also, I think that it Aquaman's child would be both too obvious, done before with Superman, and WAY too young. I would say the same for any other child. I think they're going with Jon because who else could replace Superman but a half human/half Kryptonian son?

For the other I think what they mean by "less obvious" are characters in the periphery who's backstories don't depend on the current Leaguers. They *might* be going with Luke Fox for Batman cause he mostly does his own thing and isn't one of his adopted robins. I think.

Just because you aren’t a founder doesn’t mean you can’t be an established an experienced hero with something to offer. If He started with the NTT, he’s still been active for way longer than Luke or Jon (well maybe not with timely wimpy stuff)

[king81992]

Agree, but there would still probably be a Justice League with members that might not have their own books...
Superman: Jon
Batman: Luke
Wonder Woman: ????
Green Lantern: Teen Lantern grown up (?)
Aquaman: Current unborn child of Arthur/Mera
Flash: Wallace? Unborn child of Barry/Iris?
Martian Manhunter: M'gann or the other-dimensional child of Kendra/J'onn?
Cyborg: No idea who would succeed Vic...or maybe he's ageless due to his Cyborg attributes?

Aquaman= Kaldur
Flash=should be Wally
Wonder Woman= should be Donna, but I suspect she's getting shafted and I don't see Cassie getting the mantle. No idea who they'd give it to.
MM= should be M'gann. I feel like the kid is going to sacrifice himself to save the JL somehow.

[Johnny]

I mean, but based on the new timeline Cyborg isn't even a founding member anymore, right? What would he have to teach.

Also, I think that it Aquaman's child would be both too obvious, done before with Superman, and WAY too young. I would say the same for any other child. I think they're going with Jon because who else could replace Superman but a half human/half Kryptonian son?

For the other I think what they mean by "less obvious" are characters in the periphery who's backstories don't depend on the current Leaguers. They *might* be going with Luke Fox for Batman cause he mostly does his own thing and isn't one of his adopted robins. I think.

Why does he need to be a founding member to play a mentor role. He is just a more experienced character than any JL member that came after him. He could have plenty to teach since unlike the new characters, he's no longer playing the role of "the kid" regardless if he is or isn't a founding member.

[kingaliencracker]

I will say that if DC is going all-in with this, then they need Warner-Media 100% on board. That means animated shows, TV shows, movies, toys, and other merchandise need to reflect the 5G characters. Otherwise it'll be doomed to fail before it even begins. If DC has Jon Kent as Superman but Warner-Media is still using the Clark Kent version, casual fans won't even give 5G a chance, let alone the old guard.

[Johnny]

Casuals don't give a rat's ass about the comics regardless of what DC is doing in outside media. If they did, Aquaman would've been a best-selling book. They even gave the character a beard, long hair and tattoos and it's completely irrelevant in terms of bringing more interest from the casual audience.

[Digifiend]

The Arrowverse is quick to adapt, isn't it? They already used Godspeed, who's a Rebirth era character, and Silencer, who's from the more recent New Age of DC Heroes.

[kingaliencracker]

Casuals don't give a rat's ass about the comics regardless of what DC is doing in outside media. If they did, Aquaman would've been a best-selling book.

But if they're doing this to attract new readers then they have to care about casual readers, which means the outside media needs to match what they're doing in the comics.

[Johnny]

But if they're doing this to attract new readers then they have to care about casual readers, which means the outside media needs to match what they're doing in the comics.

And that has proven time and again to be in vain. It's a non-factor. Usually the characters becoming popular in the comics is what tends to lead to media adaptations. If Miles, Kamala or Jane Thor were not successful in the comics, they would not have found their way to animation or live action. And the casuals who are now aware of these characters still won't support their comics, just look at Black Panther. The people who support those characters are still the fans who were originally attracted to them in the comics, not people who saw them in a cartoon or video game somewhere.

[kingaliencracker]

And that has proven time and again to be in vain. It's a non-factor. Usually the characters becoming popular in the comics is what tends to lead to media adaptations. If Miles, Kamala or Jane Thor were not successful in the comics, they would not have found their way to animation or live action. And the casuals who are now aware of these characters still won't support their comics, the people who support them are still the fans who were originally attracted to them, not people who they saw them in a cartoon somewhere.

Well if it's completely in vain, then this has absolutely no chance to succeed.

[Johnny]

Well if it's completely in vain, then this has absolutely no chance to succeed.

I disagree, I think it does have a chance to succeed with the comic audience, I'm just saying that corporate synergy would be unlikely to bring a lot of new people in. They can do it of course, but I'm not sure it would matter. The people who watch cartoons or buy movie tickets are simply not the people who buy these books and we see that over and over again.

[kingaliencracker]

I disagree, I think it does have a chance to succeed with the comic audience, I'm just saying that corporate synergy would be unlikely to bring a lot of new people in. They can do it of course, but I'm not sure it would matter. The people who watch cartoons or buy movie tickets are simply not the people who buy these books and we see that over and over again.

If your goal isn't to attract new readers but just to somehow maintain the current fan base, then replacing long-time characters such as Batman and Superman is the wrong way to go. Fans have proven time and time again to be adverse to change.

[kingaliencracker]

AND...if your goal is to just maintain the current fan base, then I really don't see what the point of replacing original characters in the first place.

[Johnny]

Just feels like another gimmick to me. That's what gimmicks do, they intend to "shock" the audience for a temporary sales boost, but ultimately don't really tend to serve a purpose as far as bringing new people in is concerned. Eh, we'll see what happens I suppose.

[kingaliencracker]

Just feels like another gimmick to me. That's what gimmicks do, they intend to "shock" the audience for a temporary sales boost, but ultimately don't really tend to serve a purpose as far as bringing new people in is concerned. Eh, we'll see what happens I suppose.

I don't know. This feels different. I hope you're right, because like I said I have no desire to read about a Superman that isn't Clark Kent, and I own every single Superman comic book published since 1985. But I get the feeling that someone inside is pushing hard for this initiative and DC will stick to their guns if they go through with it for a while.

[Lee Stone]

AND...if your goal is to just maintain the current fan base, then I really don't see what the point of replacing original characters in the first place.

Replacing all the characters is just ripe for dropping more long-time readers.
And they had just dropped some with New52.

New52 created 'endpoints' for readers (and mostly collectors) to give a definitive stopping point for all of DC's titles.
Quite possibly part of the reason back-issue sales and classic trades are doing better than many current titles.

5G could do the same thing, but this time for characters more than titles.
And it may end up being the stopgap for New52, giving the new readers that came in with it their own drop off point.

It's very possible that after 5G is around for a while, the reader base will be almost all new readers that come in with 5G. A large portion of the prior readers will be focusing on either preNew52 or New52 to 5G, with the exception of any special Elseworld type stories that use the familiar characters.

In the light of this theory, DC would do better to keep the other eras as imprints to give the current readers somewhere to go to avoid losing them to other publishers.