Hello, I tried to write an essay on what DC needs to do in order to make Generation Five a success. However it ended up turning into a half essay half fantasy version of DC. I put it on a WordPress, but I've pasted it below too. I would love to hear what people think, and hear other people's ideas for what they want DC to do. The post was too big to fit here so I have posted the link.
How I think DC Comics can do Generation Five (5G) right in the Wake of Dan Didio’s Firing -
https://callofthecomics.wordpress.co...didios-firing/
How I think DC Comics can do Generation Five (5G) right in the Wake of Dan Didio’s Firing.
Part 1:
During Dan Didio’s term as publisher and co-publisher of DC Comics I believe his greatest weakness was his reluctance to utilise DC’s legacy characters. This can be seen in both The New 52 and DC’s current output post-Rebirth. Watching the ‘NYCC 2018: DC Nation Panel’ (ComicsBeat has a good summary of the panel here: https://www.comicsbeat.com/nycc-18-d...tes-nightwing/) We hear Didio talk about how Dick Grayson ages with the audience, and as a result ages up Batman to the point of retirement. While some fans view this as Didio personally hating legacy characters (which isn’t too hard to believe based on the storylines Wally West and Dick Grayson had to endure during his time as a publisher), this was likely Didio’s way of trying to preserve the core DC heroes which are the most important assets to the company (such as Bruce Wayne, Diana, Clark Kent and Barry Allen). However with the upcoming DC relaunch currently referred to as Generation Five, DC’s plan was to replace all of its major superheroes with mostly newer ones or lesser known characters. Based on the rumours from BleedingCool.com we are to believe that Luke Fox will become the new Batman, Donna Troy to become Wonder Woman, Captain Boomerang Jr to become the new Flash, the GL: Far Sector lead to become the main Green Lantern and Jonathan Kent to become Superman. This appears to contradict DC’s previous goal of not aging up their primary heroes, while also continuing to neglect it’s most popular legacy characters (aside from Donna Troy as Wonder Woman because that would be incredible). Following Didio’s firing hopefully Generation Five will be fixed in order to take advantage of DC’s great roster of legacy characters, and if they don’t then maybe Dan Didio was just the fall man for the failures of his higher ups.
In 2016 DC launched their publishing initiative led by DC’s former Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, DC Rebirth. The purpose of Rebirth was to revitalise DC comics characters by focusing on the aspects that have made them so popular, while creating new stories focusing on these defining aspects and qualities. This allowed DC to modernise their characters while keeping them true to what has kept them relevant and popular for so many years. An example of this is Superman in Rebirth. Superman has always been portrayed as a role model. Someone who has all of the power in the world and spends his time and effort, while using it selflessly to help others. Superman is written to believe in humanity and the good in people over all other things. This results in him being referred to as a boy scout due to his naivety and constant belief in doing the right thing. This can make him appear ‘lame’ to younger readers as he appears to be just a big ‘goody two-shoes’ to those who are not a fan of the character. In Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s run on the character during DC Rebirth, they focused on Clark Kent as a father to his son Jonathan Kent. By focusing on Clark Kent as a father and family man the character stayed true to his characterisation as a positive role model while also giving him a specific character to be a role model to. Older fans could relate to Clark trying to be a role model and teaching his son to be the best man possible, while younger fans could relate to Jonathan as a young boy looking up to his father. Some fans would be able to view him as both. Fans of Lois Lane got to watch her become a mother, and see her as being intelligent, without having to dumb down other characters. This series was entertaining as it portrayed family drama in a superhero world while providing great role models for young and old. Wonder Woman’s series showed that her compassion will always be her greatest strength even when she is a super strong Amazonian. And Batman’s series continued to show a character always struggling to overcome his trauma and fighting to be a hero. Rebirth increased sales all around due to the fact that the books were of high quality and not just new #1’s that speculators wanted to pick up. This resulted in reasonably sustained numbers that Marvel and DC have struggled to maintain throughout the 2010’s with constant relaunches. By focusing on what has made these characters endure the test of time while mixing in new elements is why Rebirth was such a massive success amongst DC fans.
In order for Generation Five to be a success, DC Comics need to focus on the long lasting legacy of their long term heroes if they want to replace them or age them up. I believe that the best way to do this is by including the original heroes in mentorship roles with a mixture of legacy characters and a few new original characters taking over the main roles. An increased focus on the Justice Society of America would be a great way to include the core heroes with the legacy heroes stepping up to inherit their roles. An updated JSA could even have our current heroes be our current heroes mentoring the new ones. By focusing on the aspects of the heroes that have stood the test of time, DC can have their cake and eat it too.