The cruelest thing they did was make a bunch of great stories and great characters.
The CRUELEST thing?
I really hope you just misphrased what you meant because there's absolutely no way even you believe that. I'm sure you can name a dozen crueler things DC has done besides...making Nightwing and the New Teen Titans and a bunch of other new characters.
Well, maybe not the cruelest I'll allow, but still cruel.
A bat! That's it! It's an omen.. I'll shall become a bat!