Left Behind: Tethering DC Heroes to their Original Eras

[Kaijudo]

I like the idea of keeping Doom Patrol’s pre-resurrection adventures in the 60s, but how can they explain Chief still being alive in the present?

Wasn't there a story somewhere that suggested The Chief had used a bit of whatever keeps General Immortus around on himself? And Celsius, for that matter? Might've been a Who's Who entry...

[Jim Kelly]

I believe in the comics that the Chief had a way of not being dead. Reading the Wikipedia article, I'm reminded that Grant Morrison retconned the Chief into a really horrible guy. He had always been ambiguous in his motives, but there he went over the edge. In the DOOM PATROL television show, Niles' need to extend his life is the overarching plot of the series that motivates everything else that happens.

[Trevacious]

* The Freedom Fighters - I don't know how, but I just really like the idea of an Uncle Sam-led team being active during the Bicentennial.

Yeah, I’d read that. Would they face Bronze Age Villains? Likewise tethered, but without a JSA or JLA around to stop them? Then again, since the Nazis seem to never go away, I’d have to suppose Baron Blitzkrieg is still up to making trouble for Uncle Sam and friends.

[Kaijudo]

Referencing this thread in the "Who Should Predate Superman" thread has me thinking about other candidates for staying in their own time periods. Had a few more come to mind:

Scarab (from the Vertigo mini of the same name) was introduced as a "lost" Golden Age hero who essentially became a hermit until his powers were retriggered in the 90s. I think leaving the retriggering set in the 90s is solid, since his youth was restored and he essentially flew under the radar until he got caught up in the new JSA adventures.

Similar to the questions about Infinity Inc., but a bit removed from it, I think Jonni Thunder could remain in the 80s. She's not so much a descendant of a Golden Age hero as having a connection to another member of the Thunderbolt's species, so it doesn't even run up against any continuity involving Jakeem Thunder. And speaking of which...

Also for the 90s, maybe Primal Force? You have a number of characters who have barely been used since (Claw, Golem, Meridan, Will Power), one that's long-lived (Dr. Mist), one with a spotty history that could easily be adjusted to make things work (Red Tornado...maybe this is an early outing of the Tornado Champion now, learning about humanity), one who has had a number of people using the identity (Jack O' Lantern), and one who has since died and had the legacy taken up by a new, modern-day character (Black Condor). A little bit of slightly heavy lifting involved, but I think it could work.

[Jim Kelly]

JSA 16 (November 2000) recounted that during the 1940s there was a super-hero group called the Seven Shadows. Louis Sendak, the Scarab, was a member of that team. The other six members all died in an encounter with Johnny Sorrow, but Sendak survived.

I don't know if it's still the back story for the Global Guardians, but post-Crisis it was established that they had their roots in the Club of Heroes. Rather than emulating Batman, the Club of Heroes banded together in the early 1950s, inspired by the Justice Society's activities during the war. Following the Club of Heroes, "The Dome" was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. And Dr. Mist acted on their behalf to gather the original Global Guardians.

Another rewrite of Batman pre-Crisis history was the Starman of 1951. In the original story, it was Batman in 1957 who temporarily assumed the Starman identity. In the Robinson STARMAN run it was retconned that Dr. Mid-Nite posed as the Starman of 1951, before a time-travelling David Knight took over the identity from Charles McNider.

[kcekada]

Maybe just untether everyone in shared universe stories.

If you must have a JSA story set in WWII -- make it a self-contained universe or reality (ala Earth 2). Same goes for every other property. And honestly, most new readers don't have an F about history -- so not sure why tethering is even needed on a regular basis.

[ducklord]

Maybe just untether everyone in shared universe stories.

If you must have a JSA story set in WWII -- make it a self-contained universe or reality (ala Earth 2). Same goes for every other property. And honestly, most new readers don't have an F about history -- so not sure why tethering is even needed on a regular basis.

'Cause it's fun. Dragging every stinking DC character into the floating present, removing them from the eras that spawned them, can strip them of much of the charm that's intrinsic to them, and force writers to constantly re-invent/re-imagine them for the current age. And I say, for certain characters, why bother? You've got about 50 years of wiggle room between the end of the Golden Age and the (current) modern age, why should that be a heroic wasteland in the DCU?

[Superfly Frankenstein]

Basically, you have John Byrne’s Generation mini-series. Those were fun.

[Jim Kelly]

NEW FRONTIER was a lot of fun.

[kcekada]

'Cause it's fun. Dragging every stinking DC character into the floating present, removing them from the eras that spawned them, can strip them of much of the charm that's intrinsic to them, and force writers to constantly re-invent/re-imagine them for the current age. And I say, for certain characters, why bother? You've got about 50 years of wiggle room between the end of the Golden Age and the (current) modern age, why should that be a heroic wasteland in the DCU?

But many of those work best in that era. I'm not sure why Jay Garrick and Alan Scott are necessary in present stories. I like them, but not as heroes who are past their prime. I would prefer them in a floating chronology. I'm a huge WWII fan, but what's the point of keeping them connected to that era. If someone has a story to tell with them in that era -- just do a story set then -- and let the consequences be damned.

[Factor]

What if… Wildstorm’s prime happened between the 90s and the 00s?

- Planetary would happen around the turn of the century. They could still be around, but never seen. The original comic would remain largely untouched but re-contextualised within the DCU (so the Vertigo homage issue for example would have truly been about Vertigo characters who were around in the 80s).
- Authority: also began in the turn of the century. They could have originated in the main Earth, but as the team with the biggest access to multiversal travel, their missions would mostly take place in alternate universes. In the present the team would have disbanded, wary of the consequences of their own actions. They’d be a cautionary tale to the JL.
- Stormwatch: turn it into a secret metahuman organisation who debuted in the 90’s to handle extranormal activities. They’re the legacy of the S.H.I.E.L.D analogue S.T.O.R.M. from Planetary. The main team’s deaths would have given rise to the Authority like in original continuity.
- Gen13: a 90s group of teens who were given superpowers in secret experiments. Part of the MTV generation. They became well-known in their time, but the world doesn’t truly believe they actually had powers.
- WildC.A.T.S.: Also basically the same as the original. Emp’s Halo Corporation rose in the 90s and the team fought many secret battles against the Daemonites until learning that the war had been done for centuries. They decided to finally accept Earth as their home and to find their place in it through Halo. In the present, the company is still extremely successful and some of the WildC.A.T.S. are still operating in the background to handle secret conspiracies.

This is mostly a fun exercise, but I think most of it could work considering how a lot of the WS properties dealt with secret organisations and covert missions. Things like Authority would obviously need adjusting but I think leaning into the Multiverse would make sense considering their access to the Carrier.

[John Venus]

I think the GL's would be fun if they were pinned to specific eras:

Alan Scott: the GL of the 40's but not tied to the GLC.

Hal Jordan: The Lantern of the 60's. Owing to the space race and fascination around pilots.

John Stewart: The Lantern of the 70's. Connected to the civil rights and class struggles.

Guy Gardner: The Lantern of the 80's. Although Guy debuted in the 60's, the version we are familiar with didn't show up until the 80's. So I think it's fair to slide him up.

Kyle Rayner: The Lantern of the 90's. Self explanatory. Especially since he was created to identify with the then-young adults who were into manga.

Simon Baz: The Lantern of the 00's. Although he debuted years later IRL, given his origin, an American muslim becoming a GL right after 9/11 and the height of Islamophobia has the potential for some powerful story telling.

Jessica Cruz: The Lantern of the 10's. Anxiety and mental health are very relevant topics in this era and she was created to represent them.

Jo Mullein: The Lantern of the '20's. Her whole theme is 'living with fear'. Given all the crap she's been through on earth, she represents escapism and desire to escape the earth and it's multiple concurrent and sometimes over lapping crisis's (from climate change to the rise of extremism).

[Jim Kelly]

Even though I didn't like to see either Barry or Hal killed off, I was kind of hoping they would stay dead rather than be brought back and abused by writers and fans. However, I always had a way of allowing them to be dead yet appear in comics. With Barry, if he had died in Crisis only after living a long life in the 30th century with Iris (having kids and grandkids), he would still have appeared in stories set in that future. Hal would have been dead in the present but as Pol Manning he would have been alive in 5700 A.D.--optionally, some version of Hal's consciousness could have been in his ring and counselled whoever got that ring after him (Hal had more than one ring during his career).

[bat39]

I think the GL's would be fun if they were pinned to specific eras:

Alan Scott: the GL of the 40's but not tied to the GLC.

Hal Jordan: The Lantern of the 60's. Owing to the space race and fascination around pilots.

John Stewart: The Lantern of the 70's. Connected to the civil rights and class struggles.

Guy Gardner: The Lantern of the 80's. Although Guy debuted in the 60's, the version we are familiar with didn't show up until the 80's. So I think it's fair to slide him up.

Kyle Rayner: The Lantern of the 90's. Self explanatory. Especially since he was created to identify with the then-young adults who were into manga.

Simon Baz: The Lantern of the 00's. Although he debuted years later IRL, given his origin, an American muslim becoming a GL right after 9/11 and the height of Islamophobia has the potential for some powerful story telling.

Jessica Cruz: The Lantern of the 10's. Anxiety and mental health are very relevant topics in this era and she was created to represent them.

Jo Mullein: The Lantern of the '20's. Her whole theme is 'living with fear'. Given all the crap she's been through on earth, she represents escapism and desire to escape the earth and it's multiple concurrent and sometimes over lapping crisis's (from climate change to the rise of extremism).

Come to think of it, a Green Lantern: Generations series would be great

[Kaijudo]

What if… Wildstorm’s prime happened between the 90s and the 00s?

- Planetary would happen around the turn of the century. They could still be around, but never seen. The original comic would remain largely untouched but re-contextualised within the DCU (so the Vertigo homage issue for example would have truly been about Vertigo characters who were around in the 80s).
- Authority: also began in the turn of the century. They could have originated in the main Earth, but as the team with the biggest access to multiversal travel, their missions would mostly take place in alternate universes. In the present the team would have disbanded, wary of the consequences of their own actions. They’d be a cautionary tale to the JL.
- Stormwatch: turn it into a secret metahuman organisation who debuted in the 90’s to handle extranormal activities. They’re the legacy of the S.H.I.E.L.D analogue S.T.O.R.M. from Planetary. The main team’s deaths would have given rise to the Authority like in original continuity.
- Gen13: a 90s group of teens who were given superpowers in secret experiments. Part of the MTV generation. They became well-known in their time, but the world doesn’t truly believe they actually had powers.
- WildC.A.T.S.: Also basically the same as the original. Emp’s Halo Corporation rose in the 90s and the team fought many secret battles against the Daemonites until learning that the war had been done for centuries. They decided to finally accept Earth as their home and to find their place in it through Halo. In the present, the company is still extremely successful and some of the WildC.A.T.S. are still operating in the background to handle secret conspiracies.

This is mostly a fun exercise, but I think most of it could work considering how a lot of the WS properties dealt with secret organisations and covert missions. Things like Authority would obviously need adjusting but I think leaning into the Multiverse would make sense considering their access to the Carrier.

Really like the idea of making the Wildstorm characters permanent fixtures of the DCU in the 90s. Not only does it allow those characters and (most) of their stories to stand alone and thrive as they were, without trying to force them together with any DC folks where it just feels so mismatched, but it also allows for the two Wildstorm characters who've had the most impact on the DCU, Apollo and Midnighter, to continue onward into the modern DC (with their powers allowing a reduced rate of aging), while keeping the worst creative instincts behind most of those other characters locked firmly 30 years ago in the DCU timeline.