New Code names for characters that you want to drop the current ones

[Thirteen]

I disagree that potential scandals should force us to change codenames. I like Gypsy fine.

There's a difference between "potential scandal" and using a word considered a slur by the group to which it refers.

[transformers03]

A topic near and dear to my heart, I have a lot to say about certain heroes needing new identities. Though on that topic, the marketability of certain superhero names has to be considered. It's one thing for a character to suddenly go by a new codename, it's another thing entirely if it catches on. Certain names simply sell better than others, and sometimes it will take a while for others to catch on.

I have always been a strong proponent of certain superheroes sharing the same codename, but it also has to be the right name. For example, I don't mind if Barbara, Cassandra, and Stephanie are all called Batgirl, in fact, I actually think it's cool. Also, wasn't Barbara called Batgirl-Prime once? That would actually be really fitting. Batgirl has because such a popular brand, especially because of the Superhero Girl show, that I think it's a big enough name that more than one person can share it. I feel the same way with Ryan Choi and Ray Palmer being Atom, as well as Barry Allen and Wally West both being Flash. I felt the same when Bruce and Dick Grayson were both briefly Batman. In fact, I love Dick's time as Batman so much, I'm willing to live in a world with three Batmen (Bruce, Dick, and Jace). Yeah, I understand the backstory and character motivation for why Dick needs to stay Nightwing, but those Batman comics with Dick were so darn good.

Likewise, even though I don't think they did share the same codename at the concurrent time, I would've been okay with Diana and Donna sharing the Wonder Woman title (I'm also okay with the two sharing it with Yara now too). Donna Troy is genuinely one of my favorite DC characters, and I really do believe she has suffered the most from the original Teen Titans generation in terms of marketability. Donna Troy is a very cool-sounding name, but it's never been one to catch on with the mainstream. Her other superhero identities, like Darkstar and Troia, really suck in my opinion. They also lack the marketability of Wonder Woman or Wonder Girl; neither of Donna's post-Wonder Girl codenames has direct ties to the Wonder branding. With all my constant wining about Donna's lack of good superhero identity, I legitimately have no idea what she should be called. She should be Wonder Woman's equivalent to Nightwing, yet she somehow lacks that mainstream appeal.

I have the same concern with Cassie since I feel like DC will be pushing Yara as their Wonder Girl. I think the Young Justice generation, in general, is going to suffer the most in terms of what characters will be pushed and which ones will fall into the sideline. Most of Young Justice superhero titles have now been given to a newer generation, and I now fear the higher-ups of DC will not know how to push forward with those characters going forward. Why would they have Cassie's Wonder Girl show up when they can have the shinning new character instead. I type all this with the caveat that I actually really like what I've read of Yara. With all that said, someone on these forums suggested Olympia for Cassie, and I thought that was too good of a codename to not be taken already. According to the DC wiki, there was an Olympia in Wildstorm, as well as an Olympiad in one of the DC animated movies. (there was also an Image mini-series) It's such a great name and works so well for context for Wonder Woman's lore, that I actually kind of want Donna to take it, but it fits a lot better with Cassie.

Conner is so difficult, some writer needs to come up with a new Kryptonian myth that Conner can base his superhero identity on ala Dick with Nightwing. I agree with some commentators, I think Kara should become Superwoman, even though I really like the idea of Lana Lang being Superwoman as well. I feel like upgrading Kara to Superwoman would allow them to introduce a new version of Linda Danvers (I miss Linda, even though she and Kara are essentially the same characters).

I understand people not liking Red Robin for Tim since it is generic and derivative, but that's why I love it so much. I think of all the Robins, Tim has had the hardest time moving beyond his Robin identity. Dick and Jason were fortunate to get amazing superhero identities post-Robin; for a majority of people, Tim will always be Robin. Red Robin I think was a great half-measure approach to Tim's post-Robin life. He could still be called Robin, yet was still a hero separate from the current Robin. Also, in fairness, Red Robin the name only really works with the amazing Alex Ross design.

I thought Rush was already a superhero name in DC comics, given to one of the many speedster characters introduced in the Flash comics, I'm surprised it hasn't. I think it's a good name for a character, in fact, I think Kid Rush would also sound great. While I think Wallace will stay Kid Flash a little while longer, I brought up once that Godspeed was too cool of a name to have died with the character (who may actually be alive again) that I think Wallace should take up that title (and costume). That way Irey could take up the title Kid Flash, and Jai becomes the new Turtle.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I'm all for Tim Drake becoming a modernized version of the classic Grey Ghost character since he was denied the intended BLUE BEETLE mantle, and he would have been a great QUESTION as well.
For the name of this hipster (?) generation ghostly detective would be DUSK.

Maybe Tim takes the name because of Nathaniel Dusk?

[Eskana]

A topic near and dear to my heart, I have a lot to say about certain heroes needing new identities. Though on that topic, the marketability of certain superhero names has to be considered. It's one thing for a character to suddenly go by a new codename, it's another thing entirely if it catches on. Certain names simply sell better than others, and sometimes it will take a while for others to catch on.

I have always been a strong proponent of certain superheroes sharing the same codename, but it also has to be the right name. For example, I don't mind if Barbara, Cassandra, and Stephanie are all called Batgirl, in fact, I actually think it's cool. Also, wasn't Barbara called Batgirl-Prime once? That would actually be really fitting. Batgirl has because such a popular brand, especially because of the Superhero Girl show, that I think it's a big enough name that more than one person can share it. I feel the same way with Ryan Choi and Ray Palmer being Atom, as well as Barry Allen and Wally West both being Flash. I felt the same when Bruce and Dick Grayson were both briefly Batman. In fact, I love Dick's time as Batman so much, I'm willing to live in a world with three Batmen (Bruce, Dick, and Jace). Yeah, I understand the backstory and character motivation for why Dick needs to stay Nightwing, but those Batman comics with Dick were so darn good.

Likewise, even though I don't think they did share the same codename at the concurrent time, I would've been okay with Diana and Donna sharing the Wonder Woman title (I'm also okay with the two sharing it with Yara now too). Donna Troy is genuinely one of my favorite DC characters, and I really do believe she has suffered the most from the original Teen Titans generation in terms of marketability. Donna Troy is a very cool-sounding name, but it's never been one to catch on with the mainstream. Her other superhero identities, like Darkstar and Troia, really suck in my opinion. They also lack the marketability of Wonder Woman or Wonder Girl; neither of Donna's post-Wonder Girl codenames has direct ties to the Wonder branding. With all my constant wining about Donna's lack of good superhero identity, I legitimately have no idea what she should be called. She should be Wonder Woman's equivalent to Nightwing, yet she somehow lacks that mainstream appeal.

I have the same concern with Cassie since I feel like DC will be pushing Yara as their Wonder Girl. I think the Young Justice generation, in general, is going to suffer the most in terms of what characters will be pushed and which ones will fall into the sideline. Most of Young Justice superhero titles have now been given to a newer generation, and I now fear the higher-ups of DC will not know how to push forward with those characters going forward. Why would they have Cassie's Wonder Girl show up when they can have the shinning new character instead. I type all this with the caveat that I actually really like what I've read of Yara. With all that said, someone on these forums suggested Olympia for Cassie, and I thought that was too good of a codename to not be taken already. According to the DC wiki, there was an Olympia in Wildstorm, as well as an Olympiad in one of the DC animated movies. (there was also an Image mini-series) It's such a great name and works so well for context for Wonder Woman's lore, that I actually kind of want Donna to take it, but it fits a lot better with Cassie.

Conner is so difficult, some writer needs to come up with a new Kryptonian myth that Conner can base his superhero identity on ala Dick with Nightwing. I agree with some commentators, I think Kara should become Superwoman, even though I really like the idea of Lana Lang being Superwoman as well. I feel like upgrading Kara to Superwoman would allow them to introduce a new version of Linda Danvers (I miss Linda, even though she and Kara are essentially the same characters).

I understand people not liking Red Robin for Tim since it is generic and derivative, but that's why I love it so much. I think of all the Robins, Tim has had the hardest time moving beyond his Robin identity. Dick and Jason were fortunate to get amazing superhero identities post-Robin; for a majority of people, Tim will always be Robin. Red Robin I think was a great half-measure approach to Tim's post-Robin life. He could still be called Robin, yet was still a hero separate from the current Robin. Also, in fairness, Red Robin the name only really works with the amazing Alex Ross design.

I thought Rush was already a superhero name in DC comics, given to one of the many speedster characters introduced in the Flash comics, I'm surprised it hasn't. I think it's a good name for a character, in fact, I think Kid Rush would also sound great. While I think Wallace will stay Kid Flash a little while longer, I brought up once that Godspeed was too cool of a name to have died with the character (who may actually be alive again) that I think Wallace should take up that title (and costume). That way Irey could take up the title Kid Flash, and Jai becomes the new Turtle.

What a great series of ideas! I would second all of them.

I also feel your concerns for the Teen Titans/Young Justice characters being replaced by the shiny new "diverse" replacements. We all want there to be a way to keep them all, because plenty of these new characters are great. I like everything I've seen so far with Yara, and I like Wallace West as well. Damian (a bit older addition, but still) brings something new to the whole Robin legacy. But if DC ignores the old characters and just brings in people to replace them without further evolving the original characters, we'll never see the characters grow, like Dick from Robin to Nightwing and Batman. DC has to remember how to not just throw away a toy because it's "old."

Personally, I think the original/older Teen Titans and Young Justice members should form a new team (not a branch of the JL) to basically create a place for these characters to go as a new generation of heroes becomes the Teen Titans and Young Justice. In a way, they've done that by having "Titans" (as opposed to "Teen Titans,) but I think the team should have a different name completely, not linking them to the Titans or the JL necessarily, and possibly with a different mission or MO. Basically, I'm picturing how in X-men there are always multiple teams, often with different MOs, and this would give these characters a place and a role.

[scary harpy]

A topic near and dear to my heart, I have a lot to say about certain heroes needing new identities. Though on that topic, the marketability of certain superhero names has to be considered. It's one thing for a character to suddenly go by a new codename, it's another thing entirely if it catches on. Certain names simply sell better than others, and sometimes it will take a while for others to catch on.

I have always been a strong proponent of certain superheroes sharing the same codename, but it also has to be the right name. For example, I don't mind if Barbara, Cassandra, and Stephanie are all called Batgirl, in fact, I actually think it's cool. Also, wasn't Barbara called Batgirl-Prime once? That would actually be really fitting. Batgirl has because such a popular brand, especially because of the Superhero Girl show, that I think it's a big enough name that more than one person can share it. I feel the same way with Ryan Choi and Ray Palmer being Atom, as well as Barry Allen and Wally West both being Flash. I felt the same when Bruce and Dick Grayson were both briefly Batman. In fact, I love Dick's time as Batman so much, I'm willing to live in a world with three Batmen (Bruce, Dick, and Jace). Yeah, I understand the backstory and character motivation for why Dick needs to stay Nightwing, but those Batman comics with Dick were so darn good.

Likewise, even though I don't think they did share the same codename at the concurrent time, I would've been okay with Diana and Donna sharing the Wonder Woman title (I'm also okay with the two sharing it with Yara now too). Donna Troy is genuinely one of my favorite DC characters, and I really do believe she has suffered the most from the original Teen Titans generation in terms of marketability. Donna Troy is a very cool-sounding name, but it's never been one to catch on with the mainstream. Her other superhero identities, like Darkstar and Troia, really suck in my opinion. They also lack the marketability of Wonder Woman or Wonder Girl; neither of Donna's post-Wonder Girl codenames has direct ties to the Wonder branding. With all my constant wining about Donna's lack of good superhero identity, I legitimately have no idea what she should be called. She should be Wonder Woman's equivalent to Nightwing, yet she somehow lacks that mainstream appeal.

I have the same concern with Cassie since I feel like DC will be pushing Yara as their Wonder Girl. I think the Young Justice generation, in general, is going to suffer the most in terms of what characters will be pushed and which ones will fall into the sideline. Most of Young Justice superhero titles have now been given to a newer generation, and I now fear the higher-ups of DC will not know how to push forward with those characters going forward. Why would they have Cassie's Wonder Girl show up when they can have the shinning new character instead. I type all this with the caveat that I actually really like what I've read of Yara. With all that said, someone on these forums suggested Olympia for Cassie, and I thought that was too good of a codename to not be taken already. According to the DC wiki, there was an Olympia in Wildstorm, as well as an Olympiad in one of the DC animated movies. (there was also an Image mini-series) It's such a great name and works so well for context for Wonder Woman's lore, that I actually kind of want Donna to take it, but it fits a lot better with Cassie.

Conner is so difficult, some writer needs to come up with a new Kryptonian myth that Conner can base his superhero identity on ala Dick with Nightwing. I agree with some commentators, I think Kara should become Superwoman, even though I really like the idea of Lana Lang being Superwoman as well. I feel like upgrading Kara to Superwoman would allow them to introduce a new version of Linda Danvers (I miss Linda, even though she and Kara are essentially the same characters).

I understand people not liking Red Robin for Tim since it is generic and derivative, but that's why I love it so much. I think of all the Robins, Tim has had the hardest time moving beyond his Robin identity. Dick and Jason were fortunate to get amazing superhero identities post-Robin; for a majority of people, Tim will always be Robin. Red Robin I think was a great half-measure approach to Tim's post-Robin life. He could still be called Robin, yet was still a hero separate from the current Robin. Also, in fairness, Red Robin the name only really works with the amazing Alex Ross design.

I thought Rush was already a superhero name in DC comics, given to one of the many speedster characters introduced in the Flash comics, I'm surprised it hasn't. I think it's a good name for a character, in fact, I think Kid Rush would also sound great. While I think Wallace will stay Kid Flash a little while longer, I brought up once that Godspeed was too cool of a name to have died with the character (who may actually be alive again) that I think Wallace should take up that title (and costume). That way Irey could take up the title Kid Flash, and Jai becomes the new Turtle.

Well thought out.

Barbara has become Oracle by choice (instead of by injury); I like this idea. Babs can still swing into action if the need arises. (Shouldn’t Bette be Bat-Girl Prime?) Cass can be Batgirl and Stephanie is Spoiler. Spoiler is a good name and a Bat insignia doesn’t mar her costume.

Ray Palmer can join Justice Incarnate like Barry Allen did.

Richard as Batman was good…he should be just as good when Nightwing. Should be.

Donna’s codename could be Donna Wonder…it would be uniquely hers. I agree about her other identities. (By the by, Donna Wonder appeared in an issue of Superman/Batman #60 in July 2009.)

Cassie’s codename could be Amaze…as in Amazing Amazon. (By the by, an Amaze was once a teammate of Apollo and Midnighter.)

Conner’s could be known as Kon-El. It works for Mon-El (from Legion of Super-Heroes).

Red Robin is a burger restaurant. The name may have worked for Richard Grayson in Kingdom Come…but it doesn’t work now. Black Robin might be better…Tim once suggested this alias to Cass Cain…but this depends on the next direction DC takes with Tim. Damian should be Robin; Tim needs to progress.

Rush sounds good for a speedster…so does Kid Rush…so does Speed Demon…so does Impetus (- once a teammate of Apollo and Midnighter). I like the ideas for Irey and Jai.

[Thirteen]

Cyndy Reynolds needs a new name, to avoid possible scandals. "Wanderer" could fit her.

Update to MIGRANT?

Donna Troy should either be called Troia or maybe the Amazing Amazon.Olympia.Wonderah.Victory.juat to name a few.

Oddly enough, some of the other Titans generation legacy names would suit Donna: ARSENAL (to focus on her weapon skills since the Wonder family has gotten more into Sword and Shields) GOLDEN EAGLE (the Wonder symbol), HUNTRESS would have connected her to Diana... and then her former name DARKSTAR kind of works with her dark color scheme and the star-spangled Wonder design or GOLDSTAR to borrow from the Booster Gold family.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

For Connor Hawke, I'd name him Emerald Tiger or Dragon Fist.

I'm also partial to Emerald Eagle and Dragon's claw.

[TheRay]

There's a difference between "potential scandal" and using a word considered a slur by the group to which it refers.

Except Gypsy is called as such because she essentially was one. It's not like anybody called her that mockingly and derisively. She calls herself that.

[Digifiend]

I agree with some commentators, I think Kara should become Superwoman, even though I really like the idea of Lana Lang being Superwoman as well. I feel like upgrading Kara to Superwoman would allow them to introduce a new version of Linda Danvers (I miss Linda, even though she and Kara are essentially the same characters).

There's two big differences between them, origin, and powers. The Linda Danvers from the 90s was human, having gained powers from the Matrix. As such, her powers aren't exactly the full Kryptonian powerset. Kara, on the other hand, has the exact same powers as Superman and is an alien who's only been on Earth for a few years.

[Digifiend]

Since Caitlin Snow is now a hero she can be renamed as Glacier instead of Killer Frost or Frost it is too close to the original and Louise Lincoln.

Wasn't Caitlin already simply called Frost? Ever since she joined the JLA in New 52? That's where the Flash TV show got it from.

Incidentally, they ought to start using her again, Vibe too. It's odd that those two didn't get a push after the show used them.

[transformers03]

I didn't bring it up earlier, but I don't know if Nubia needs a superhero identity. I say this, but I haven't read anything with her in it. Her graphic novel was simply called Nubia, so I don't know if she's actually called Wonder Woman or not in that book. If DC wants to treat Nubia as another Wonder Woman, I wonder if they'll just go the Miles Morales route and simply market her as Nubia, even though her real superhero identity is Wonder Woman.

Another character I forgot to bring is Tim "Jace" Fox. Will he just be referred to as the Next Batman in marketing, or will he have his own superhero identity that serves as a stepping stone for him before taking up Batman in a potential future? One of my favorite aspects of Jace as Batman is his potential dynamic with his brother, who goes by Batwing. I always love me some bro superheroes, and I kind of like the idea of Jace and Luke being the Batwing bros. With that said, I think it's probably better for Jace to have his own superhero identity if he does gain one before he becomes Batman in the future. People were saying Shadow Bat, which I thought for a long time would have worked for Cassandra, yet I guess that works for Jace. Ultimately though, I actually wouldn't mind there being more than one Batman, so Jace can be one. Heck, Batman Incorporated sets that idea up very nicely. But if Jace can be Batman, Dick should totally be one too.

Another aspect that makes changing superhero codenames more complex is the fact that you need to have these characters with these new codenames in other media. Everyone now knows the first Robin becomes Nightwing, but that's because the 90s Batman animated series popularized the name Nightwing (it also helps that Nightwing is a pretty baller name). Jason Todd's rise to popularity within the mainstream in the 2010s can be almost attributed to the Under The Red Hood animated movie. Thanks to a large part of that movie, people all over now know there was a second Robin who became the anti-hero Red Hood (Arkham Knight several years later would also really help).

On the opposite end, Tim has yet to have a major appearance outside comics where he isn't Robin. When he appears in other media, it is almost always as Robin. It's hard for any of Tim's other names, including his terrible ones, to get any traction when outside media hasn't really embrace any of his other codenames yet. Cassandra also had this problem with Orphan, though I think she did use that identity in the last season of Young Justice. However, it seems at this point I think DC is willing to brand Cassandra as their Batgirl again.

The point I'm making is that if DC wants something to stick, they need to incorporate it into other media. There's the reason why synergy works.

[TheRay]

I prefer "Elastic Lad" as Jimmy Olsen's name, but I'd be open to arguments for others.

[Thirteen]

Except Gypsy is called as such because she essentially was one. It's not like anybody called her that mockingly and derisively. She calls herself that.

"Gypsy" is a fictional character called that because the creators named her that before the word was commonly considered a ethnic slur in our world culture. Awareness changed.

[TheRay]

No...her name has an in-universe explanation just as Batman does.

[Thirteen]

No...her name has an in-universe explanation just as Batman does.

And likewise, Batman is named Batman because is creators decided to name him that.