DC 5G: the Replacements

[cgh]

There is the basic question of how the hell they reverse out of this, of course. If they just got zapped with an aging ray that would be one thing, but the rumour is that it involves the destruction of the "sliding timeline" - i.e., the characters will have actually, in-continuity, been around for as long as they look like they have been.

Logically, this should apply not just to the superheroes/villains, but to supporting cast members, etc. How do they undo all of that (which would probably kill many of the older cast members like Perry White and Lucius Fox) without a full-on reboot?


The rumour was that Synder & Capullo had to talk DC out of calling Metal "Dark Crisis", IIRC.

I've long maintained that a universe with "real" time that ends with a reboot every five to ten years or so is the way to go. That way, creators get to write stories with real consequences, and not worry about maintaining decades of obscure continuity.

[Rise]

So far, 5G doesn't seem to be bad.

Still, DC's biggest problem is the lack of a real direction. Rebirth started strong, but lost steam pretty quickly because most of the writers have no idea what to do. I'm still not sure if the problem is with the writers or the editorial staff (or both) and unless they found a solution for this, it will be same old same old.

[Mr.B]

Doomsday clock 12 already shows by real time in 2026, the Earth 0 gets reset and Superman moves ahead.

[DragonPiece]

Doomsday clock 12 already shows by real time in 2026, the Earth 0 gets reset and Superman moves ahead.

Ok but let’s be real, if people need up loving 5G and it’s still doing good in sales in 2026, I doubt whoever is running DC then will switch gears because of a comic that came out seven years ago by that time.

[Mr.B]

Ok but let’s be real, if people need up loving 5G and it’s still doing good in sales in 2026, I doubt whoever is running DC then will switch gears because of a comic that came out seven years ago by that time.

Nah they will just have both old and young together.

[Tzigone]

Ok but let’s be real, if people need up loving 5G and it’s still doing good in sales in 2026, I doubt whoever is running DC then will switch gears because of a comic that came out seven years ago by that time.

No matter what's going on, I doubt whatever was set for 2026 in the comic will end up happening in any real, meaningful, compatible way. I don't think they can plan the wider universe even two years ahead without wild direction shifts, much less seven.

Only chance I see is if they planning something on the scale of COIE again (with actual planning, which seemed lacking in their last two reboots), which I understood to take a long-time in planning, and honestly I think even that's a very long shot.

[Frontier]

Do what you have to do, but did you notice there are a prestige line of somehwat in continuity books with the classic heroes still coming next year? (if all of these rumors are true.)

Didn't Bleeding Cool imply those plans got put on hold or were shuffled?

[Superlad93]

Anyone else thing that Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium seemed to foretell this concept? If 60 years is the number, then the first issue where Rose meets with an aged President Supergirl may actually be a look at what present day 5G DC may look like, right?

That would be Supergirl reflecting her DC timeline age. She'd be a few years older than Dick who is early to mid 40s according to the timeline, and from what she looks like in the issue, that's about right. We may have just straight up seen 5G for a few pages.

[andersonh1]

I have certain DC characters I follow and enjoy reading when the writing is good. I'm not about to suddenly start buying a bunch of substitutes in their place. 5G as an alternative might be interesting, but 5G as a replacement and the main DC universe going forward is something I have no interest in and will not be buying.

[Badou]

The couple was teased before in batman eternal, I really don't think it'd be that contrevesrial if we've seen them teased before.

You are severely underestimating the reaction to the fans if it happens. Relationship drama never goes away. It was teased and it was largely disliked in that Eternal story. It will open up an endless cycle of love triangle drama between them and Dick too, and nearly every story with them going forward will change to adapt to that new dynamic. Just like when that AoA story with Rogue and Magneto completely changed their dynamic and that was a alt reality story that started it.

[Frontier]

Anyone else thing that Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium seemed to foretell this concept? If 60 years is the number, then the first issue where Rose meets with an aged President Supergirl may actually be a look at what present day 5G DC may look like, right?

That would be Supergirl reflecting her DC timeline age. She'd be a few years older than Dick who is early to mid 40s according to the timeline, and from what she looks like in the issue, that's about right. We may have just straight up seen 5G for a few pages.

I don't think they'd make the "modern day" setting look that futuristic.

Or maybe they will for the remodeling of Metropolis.

[Sacred Knight]

This all sounds so familar. They make plans, those plans get reneged on and shuffled right before they're supposed to be implemented, plans change and what ends up happening is a jumbled mess. Not that I don't still think the original idea sounded like a mess to begin with, but all the same this is vintage DC under this leadership.

[Superlad93]

I don't think they'd make the "modern day" setting look that futuristic.

Or maybe they will for the remodeling of Metropolis.

Might just be Metropolis. But Earth is about to become part of the United Planets and possibly have an influx of alien cultures and maybe even tech.

Also they don't seem to care much about keeping up with today's tech or aesthetic given the fact that it's apparently 1997 (the atom bomb dropped in 45 and Wonder Woman was in the war in 42) in the DCU right now according to the timeline.

Incidentally, given the fact that it is apparently still the 20th century, it stands to reason that our 5G heroes will be the heroes of the 21st century, thus--yup, you guess it-- 3 year time skip into 5G. That would then make Bruce 58, Clark 63, and Damian 18. This would also put Clark at the last year of his Presidency if President of Earth works similar to President of the US. That then leaves room for the Supergirl presidency a year later.

[HunterX]

There is the basic question of how the hell they reverse out of this, of course.

Reverse out of this? There is only so much reboots you can do before you lose most of your fans. New 52, Rebirth, this 5G, then a new reversal after that?. Yeah, its getting too much in just a few years. Why would people continue to stick around, when nothing matters anyway, and will be reversed as soon as its introduced...Seems to me each time they are doing a reboot they are chirping away at a part of their fanbase. It needs to stop.

[transformers03]

Might as well post the new 5G article from Bleedingcool in the big 5G thread, only seems fair.

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2020/01...jokers-robins/

This latest gossip kind of further emphasize my mix feelings on the whole 5G things.

There are plenty of exciting things to look forward, and I do really appreciate that DC are taking big risks for this upcoming line of comics. But some of the ideas seem ill-thought out, and pretty misguided.

A Luke Fox starred Batman book written by an Academy Award winning author is probably one of the most tantalizing new titles that can come out of 5G, yet the same time highlights one of the big issues of this whole initiative. It seems like DC wants 5G to be as permanent as they can, by creating a younger generations of DC heroes and making the current generation into the new Justice Society-like team. The issue really is that they aren't picking the typical Legacy heroes to be the new generation, they are picking out-of-the-box characters like Luke or "a child of Captain Boomerang" (most likely Owen Mercer). It's hard to care so much of this new generation when so many of these characters wont be fan favorites.

While having unorthodox characters take up the roles of major heroes can be fun, it is hard to imagine a new generation of main DC heroes not include Dick Grayson and Donna Troy taking up their mentors roles, especially if 5G is suppose to usher in a new age of DC stories. It just doesn't feel right to have someone like Luke be this new symbol of DC heroes over someone like Dick, Donna, Cassie, Conner, and possibly Jackson Hyde, especially if DC wants to make it permanent.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why they are going with the more unusual choices to take spots of the main DC heroes. These rumored new replacements will bring in more diversity to DC universe, and better reflect how the world is today (or at least be a better reflection of American culture). Like I said, I think Luke Fox being Batman is the most exciting development for 5G currently. I just don't really like how DC is trying completely changing their entire continuity in order to make 5G work, and devaluing the true Legacy characters that probably deserved to be the true leaders of DC's future. Luke Fox, Nubia, Jo, and Jon Kent are cool characters, but 5G would be so much more exciting if it starred instead Dick, Donna, Conner, Wally (or Bart or Wallace), Garth (or Jackson), or literally any other pre-existing Green Lantern. I feel like DC could've come up with a new roster that was mixture of diversity and legacy.

Add in the fact that DC editorials is a complete mess right now and several bad story decisions (i.e. aging Jon up), it is hard to believe that 5G will be the big commercial success that DC wants it to be. There will be some titles I'll look forward to, like Luke Fox's Batman, and if Jackson Hyde does become Aquaman, I'll sure as heck keep my eye on that title (though I admit I'm not sure if that will happen). Other than that, I'm going to take a wait and see approach.