If DC does a company-wide Hard Reboot in the future ...

[godisawesome]

Honestly, I don't think that a hard reboot starting at the very beginning is the answer. Too many profitable characters left off the table.

Another option would be to launch different books set in different eras, not unlike the rumors/reports about 5G in principle. Have a batman book set during the early days with just him. Have one set while Dick is Robin and Babs is just starting as Batgirl. Have one set with Tim as robin. Have one set in the "present".

That would honestly be the ideal setup; you want a reboot that can bring people in? See how Post-Crisis actually did fine with continuity, used “events” correctly, and focused on differentiation and strong characterization... and just roll with that, with at least one book that can float across eras and tell different generational stories.

You *do* need a good enough and meticulous enough editor to manage the continuity... or have a loose enough policy to be fine with saying something like “hey, on the off chance one of these stories suck, we claim the right to override it at any time - but we will avoid doing that as much as possible.”

Arguably the best time for modifying and adjusting the history of Gotham City was in the 90’s and early 00’s, when you could have Legends of the Dark Knight feature “Prey” with a young Batman facing off with Hugo Strange, or “Heat” featuring Batman and Catwoman having a tension-filled alliance in the past, or having Loeb and Sale tackle their “Long Halloween” story in a miniseries, and all in the day and age after Miller did “Year One.”

That’s the hits; you also had a bunch of Legends of the Dark Knight stories, “Catwoman Year One,” Batman Year Two, and a bunch of other stories that didn’t get much fanfare and were ignored or retconned later without much difficulty. Didn’t matter; people didn’t through a hissy fit over them existing or being overwritten.

Let writers jump around the timeline and have fun. Maybe even let someone go ahead and tell a literally decade long story with multiple Robins or Batgirls as they grow and age, and as Bruce picks up more mileage.

[ngroove]

And they literally start the main Batman comic from the beginning ...

1.) How should/would they start BATMAN (next volume) #1?

2.) How long should/would they go on before introducing Richard Grayson pre-Robin?

1) Young Bruce Wayne, ten-ish I suppose. As well as glimpses of the characters of Martha, Thomas, and Wayne Enterprises. Then end the issue with Crime Alley.

2) Robin will be on issue fifty, however circus posters of the Flying Graysons may cameo here-and-there long before, as early as Batman's new "Year One".

[TheRay]

1. Of course start with Crime Alley, and then the rest of the issue is him being trained by Alfred after Alfred initially refuses.
2. Issue 2 should introduce Grayson, especially if he’s just himself in his first appearance.

[Restingvoice]

Oh if we're doing that
#1 Bruce Wayne
#2 James Gordon
#3 Carmine Falcone
#4 Doctor Death
#5 The Monk
#6 Hugo Strange
#7 The Reaper
#8 Dick Grayson
#9 Joker
#10 Catwoman
#11 Clayface
#12 Scarecrow
#13 The Penguin
#14 Sal Maroni
#15 Two-Face
#16 The Riddler
#17 Alfred Pennyworth
#18 The Tweedles
#19 Poison Ivy
#20 Mr. Freeze
#21 Kathy Kane
#22 Betty Kane
#23 Killer Moth
#24 Barbara Gordon
#25 Mad Hatter
#26 Man-Bat
#27 She-Bat
#28 Talia al Ghul
#29 Ra's al Ghul
#30 Crazy Quilt
#31 Kite Man
#32 Calendar Man
#33 Leslie Thompkins
#34 Lucius Fox
#35 Jason Todd
#36 Killer Croc
#37 Nocturna
#38 Cat-Man
#39 Black Mask
#40 Harvey Bullock
#41 Wrath
#42 Scorn
#43 Helena Bertinelli
#44 Shiva
#45 Tim Drake
#46 King Snake
#47 Lynx
#48 Anarchy
#49 Harold Alnut
#50 Cluemaster
#51 Stephanie Brown
#52 Jean-Paul Valley
#53 Firefly
#54 Ratcatcher
#55 Bane
#56 Cassandra Cain
#57 Harley Quinn
#58 Thomas Elliot
#59 Hush
#60 Orca
The chronology may be out of whack since I'm not looking at any timeline, but... you get the idea...
****. I forgot about Magpie and Renee Montoya.
and Mazie Zeus and Iris
Oh well. Just slip them in somewhere.

[SanityOrMadness]

Yeah, as people have said, a true Day One, "hard reboot" is impossible as a linewide event. Because it means you have a very "flat" universe, with everyone starting at the same time, because you'll end up with a lot of retellings and, frankly, because you're not going to get enough writers fully on-board with the concept to really make it stick - witness how the vast majority of non-cosmetic N52 changes to backstories and so forth have now been reverted.

You can do it in a side project, even up to and including a mini-line of books like the Ultimate Marvel imprint, but doing it to a mainline of books like the Marvel or DCU is a lose-lose. [And yet, DC keep trying their half-reboots]

[ngroove]

My structure idea, first two years:

#1 - Bruce Wayne, age 10, Thomas & Martha Wayne, with Alfred the Wayne Family Butler, Crime Alley
#2 - #7 - Bruce Wayne, age 11 - 29, studying crime, then finding himself overseas, training many fighting techniques
#8 - #12 - Bruce Wayne, age 30, return to Gotham, just to change things up, vs. a brand new criminal kingpin rather than Carmine Falcone, not to say Falcone won't exist, maybe he'll show up issue #88, Penguin will also be hanging around, owning his casino, #12 will suit up to Batman.
#13 - #14, Establish Bruce Wayne's friendship with Harvey Dent, Batman vs. Red Hood, Red Hood will dip into chemicals #14, turning into...
#15 - 18 - The Joker. #15, #16, #17 features Batman's first encounters against (Insert Brand New Foe) and (Insert Brand New Foe), for the sake of adding new villains rather than the same old dozen, while Joker gradually goes insane, and matches wits against Batman on #18.
#19 - First encounter vs. Catwoman.
#20 - First encounter vs. Killer Croc, if DC cooperates on re-introducing other villains on their other heroes' titles, Croc may join up a new Suicide Squad, while Batman joins up a new Justice League of America.
#21 - First encounter vs. Riddler, Batman working with Penguin, while suspecting Penguin is actually working with Riddler, on Riddler case.
#22 - (Insert Brand New Foe)
#23 - First encounter vs. Professor Pyg, yes, just because he's a newer foe, old chronology, does not mean he still has to wait, new chronology.
#24 - Vs. Joker, Vs. Catwoman, both two mini-story vignettes, Holiday Special.

[Vakanai]

If they were to do a hard reboot? Unpopular opinion, but yes start with an origin story, and also go in a completely new direction with it. Meaning maybe Dick doesn't become the first Robin, maybe Dick never shows up at all (and if he does, he won't be going by "Dick"). Make new supporting cast, new villains, the only thing that's the same is Bruce Wayne's Batman. Because **** it, we all know the next writer is going to move heaven and earth to bring back the old continuity, so might as well go all out and do something different and just off the wall crazy while you got the chance.

[Steven Caldwell]

No need to start over again. I would just reprint the old stories for people to read. It appears like that is what a lot of people want at this point anyways. At least, that is what the voices tell me.

[Vakanai]

No need to start over again. I would just reprint the old stories for people to read. It appears like that is what a lot of people want at this point anyways. At least, that is what the voices tell me.

Really what old fans want - new people would take one look at the old art with the old colors and the outdated dialog and nope right out.

[docmidnite]

Yep. Another hard reboot is probably an ill advised idea, but if they DO do another one, cut the bullshit and just make a clean break. Absolutely none of the major stories should have happened anymore so there is no confusion.

But we don't need too many rehashes anymore either since we know all the classic origins inside and out. Simply start with Batman, Alfred and Dick as Robin. Batman and Robin are established, but only for a few years so they are still young. Kind of a BTAS situation: streamline it down to the bare essentials. So those three, Gordon and Barbara (who would become Batgirl), the more enduring Gotham citizens (Bullock, Montoya, Lucius, Leslie, Vicki, etc.) and all the major villains.

DC has never done a hard reboot where they started everything over completely from scratch before. They’ve done a bunch of half assed reboots where they rebooted a lot of things but didn’t reboot others, but they’ve never done a full reboot.

That’s why DC’s had so many continuity problems since the first Crisis event.

[AmiMizuno]

It depends on what character. I mean like Dick Grayson could use one. With Diana, I don't think Jason needs to exist.

[scary harpy]

DC has never done a hard reboot where they started everything over completely from scratch before. They’ve done a bunch of half assed reboots where they rebooted a lot of things but didn’t reboot others, but they’ve never done a full reboot.

That’s why DC’s had so many continuity problems since the first Crisis event.

Thank you!

DC does NOT learn.

[Vakanai]

Thank you!

DC does NOT learn.

So the lesson is do a full hard reboot next time, cool.

[Jackalope89]

So the lesson is do a full hard reboot next time, cool.

With Jason Todd as Batman, Dick Grayson as Two Face, Bruce Wayne as Joker, Tim Drake as Condiment King, and Damian Wayne as Robin.

[Vakanai]

With Jason Todd as Batman, Dick Grayson as Two Face, Bruce Wayne as Joker, Tim Drake as Condiment King, and Damian Wayne as Robin.

That's not a reboot so much as an elseworld, albeit a twisted cool elseworld.