Which of these DC Properties is Closest to Trinity Status?

[Sacred Knight]

Honestly, it terms of pure push, I'd say its Harley.

[The Darknight Detective]

Honestly, it terms of pure push, I'd say its Harley.

Not just push, but commercial success. She's popular in the movies, TV, comics, merchandise... she might indeed be the closest to the Trinity.

[Frontier]

Fair enough, but I still hold that John is still well known. Jessica's push of late and the movie may have changed that, but I also remember an interview where NK Jemisin had to explain she had no idea Hal even existed until recently, and a lot of people I spoke to are similar. I think everyone is going to assume that one Green Lantern "counts" until we see them appear together in other media.

I guess it really depends on how much media you consume.

A lot of people's visualization of the DC Universe stops and ends at the DCAU, but others probably are also into other DC media, the comics, etc.

Although I think there's a lot less overlap between, say, watching cartoons and movies and actually reading the comics alongside them.

[The Darknight Detective]

Fair enough, but I still hold that John is still well known. Jessica's push of late and the movie may have changed that, but I also remember an interview where NK Jemisin had to explain she had no idea Hal even existed until recently, and a lot of people I spoke to are similar. I think everyone is going to assume that one Green Lantern "counts" until we see them appear together in other media.

NK Jemisin was a kid when Hal was on Super Friends (which was more popular than Justice League, FWIW) during the '70s and '80s, so I don't know if her viewpoint deserves a lot of weight here. I do know my generation (I'm 7 years older than NK), knew who he was - at least those viewers who followed superhero programming, at any rate.

[Jackalope89]

Dick Grayson. Not "Ric", but Dick Grayson. As Robin, Nightwing, or Grayson?

Yes.

[The Darknight Detective]

Dick Grayson. Not "Ric", but Dick Grayson. As Robin, Nightwing, or Grayson?

Yes.

At one time, yes, but not today. Maybe once again someday, though.

[Electricmastro]

If you ask DC publishing, probably Harley Quinn .

The updated trinity might be Batman, Robin, and Batgirl if anything at this point. lol

[SecretWarrior]

Flash makes the most sense to me, as reflected by the poll. Besides his rogues, he (sometimes) brings a different personality than the rest of the bunch, which allows for a unique set of stories. However, Barry is often written as a plank of wood, when Flash should be a humor book like Harley Quinn and the Flash and Substance episode of JLU.

[Frontier]

Flash makes the most sense to me, as reflected by the poll. Besides his rogues, he (sometimes) brings a different personality than the rest of the bunch, which allows for a unique set of stories. However, Barry is often written as a plank of wood, when Flash should be a humor book like Harley Quinn and the Flash and Substance episode of JLU.

I don't know if he's a blank of wood, but he's kind of a depressing sad sack in his solo book more often then not.

I think Flash should have plenty of fun and humor but it's a property that can get pretty serious and emotionally intense at times.

[Black Manta]

Green Lantern can carry more books than Wonder Woman, so I'd pick that if anything.

But The Flash could run back and forth more times resulting in more books carried. And Aquaman has a WHOLE army of sea creatures that could carry books. Just think the octopuses alone could probably carry every book in existence.

[lemonpeace]

I voted for Aquaman but in all honest Aquaman and the Flash as brands are both pretty equally close to Trinity status; even tho Aquaman is closer to it right now.

[Electricmastro]

I would say Flash definitely has had more industry shaking highs but I feel Aquaman's brand has been the most consistently important over the years and probably ticks more boxes in comparison to the Trinity. I voted for Aquaman but in all honest Aquaman and the Flash as brands are both pretty equally close to Trinity status; even tho Aquaman is closer to it right now.

If there were a second trinity, it could be made up of Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman.

[Desmark]

I could see a trinity possibility in Shazam, Aquaman and Harley. Shazam would represent Superman(the incredible power mated with optimism), Aquaman will be the Wonder Woman equivalent(otherworldly monarch outsider) and finally Harley will be a stand in for the Batman( Insane normal person hanging with the superhumans). Whether they actually sustain their recent popularity gain and actually come near the Trinity is of course doubtful but then look at the immortal Hulk.

[Sodam Yat]

Fair enough, but I still hold that John is still well known. Jessica's push of late and the movie may have changed that, but I also remember an interview where NK Jemisin had to explain she had no idea Hal even existed until recently, and a lot of people I spoke to are similar. I think everyone is going to assume that one Green Lantern "counts" until we see them appear together in other media.

There was people who I know only knew who John Stewart was and never heard of Hal Jordan. Considering that there’s a possibility that John Diggle may be John Stewart due to fan speculation and theories, being mentioned that he’s the best Green Lantern over Hal Jordan in another popular show, actors who are opened to play the character, being referenced in other shows etc. really shows how much of an impact that show did 20 years ago. Pretty damn impressive. So I don’t see how he’s being faded in any way

[kjn]

Part why the Trinity has so strong a position is that they stand out for several different and independent reasons. Sheer longevity is one. Presence in lots of different media and merchandise is another. Familiarity over generations comes from the two previous ones. But their depiction in-universe also matters. They are much more likely to turn up or be mentioned in other titles than other heroes, and other heroes look to them as examples.

So while Harley Quinn might be extremely popular now, she doesn't have close to the history or popular recognition over time as Wonder Woman, Batgirl, or Catwoman. And for appearing in other titles, while Prime Earth Harley Quinn has a very respectable 383 appearances (per the DC fandom wiki), Wonder Woman has a staggering 733, primarily because she is much more likely to turn up in other titles.