5 Elements of the Pre-New 52 DC Universe We Really, Really Miss

[CBR News]

Could DC Comics' "Rebirth" mean a return to the pre-New 52 version of the DCU? We look at the post-Crisis elements most ripe for a comeback.


Full article here.

[soylentmatt]

You're dead center.

I've spent a very long time detailing the mistakes of the New 52 era over in the DC Continuity Project, but this is definitely a great summary of them.

[JBatmanFan05]

Good job CBR on this article. These indeed are some of the biggest elements.

the loss of these iconic friendships has created a void in the heart of the DCU.

Amen here. A void. And this universe and its history are just not very interesting. The readers' connections are gone with the characters' connections.

[Noodle]

I think the aspect of legacy was hit right on the nose. It's easily the thing I miss most. Things like the JSA training a younger group of heroes, and that sense of history and importance.

[Starchild]

Do I miss some of these things? Sure. But will I lose any sleep if those elements don't return? Nope. Will it effect my enjoyment of what I currently like? Absolutely not. I think this article is bait, to be honest. Yes, I grew up on the Pre-New 52 universe (before anyone tries to downplay my status as a comic book fan) but if it wasn't for the new 52. I most likely would have never gotten back into comics.

[kumagawa]

Change is not what people want in entertainment! they want the familiar that's why the new 52 sucks and has collapsed DC

Look at last year's most popular films Star Wars: TFA and Jurassic World called sequels yet pretty much modern remakes of the originals filled with homages.

Most popular TV shows NCIS and The Voice.

Most Popular Video games Madden, FIFA, GTA and CoD.

[MadFacedKid]

Personally when the New52 started I was OK with it, the thing that ruined it for me is trying to fit 5 Earth Lanterns and history into the GL mythos and 4 Robins into the Batman mythos. I was hoping a reboot meant that all that stuff could be built up over time instead of forced into continuity.

So in honesty I just wanted the DCU to be expanded from the JL mythos, JL Meet and Introduce Earth 2, Dick branches out from Batman and forms the Teen Titans for the first time, Meet the Doom Partrol, ETC. I'm not disappointed at how it turned out and I don't dislike legacy characters but the forcing them into continuity in a weird timeline just seemed a bit silly to me.

Continuity is what it is to me now and personally I'm fine with how it is and I like alot of stuff that there doing like Titans Hunt.

I think what alot of people fail to understand is The New52 is its own Universe entirely and it doesn't have to bide by the rules of the last one. Their different characters so to speak.

[Starter Set]

Cool stuff to read and pretty spot on.

[Xofer]

Do I miss some of these things? Sure. But will I lose any sleep if those elements don't return? Nope. Will it effect my enjoyment of what I currently like? Absolutely not.

Ditto!

Granted, that's 'cause I stopped reading DC comics. Otherwise yeah I'd be really unhappy with the New 52.

[scary harpy]

I have nothing against the magic of friendships and I have no love for dystopias but that ends my agreement with this article.

Earth 2 provides a JSA with 2nd generation heroes that have a connection to a worldwide war (but not a war that ended over 70 years ago).

Titans were mostly barely trained and barely powered adolescents; there were just too many and most were forgotten and/or dead. (While similar to the LSH, the legionnaires usually had some training and a significant power. Perhaps the LSH would be better Titans.) For example, Bumblebee is an African-American, female scientific genius that built her own power suit. What did DC do with her for decades? I think you know. I am also sick of young people, especially Titans, being used as cannon fodder in the latest crisis.

[Robotman]

I agree with most of these. The superhero friendships are definitely missed. It's been 5 years and Green Lantern and Green Arrow still aren't friends.
The legacy aspect I agree with to a point. Things had gotten a bit out of hand pre-flashpoint in regards to the amount of legacy characters. We don't need a fifth version of a character. How many Dr. Fate's were there again?
And if the Golden Age heroes do come back I hope they're on a different Earth. Bring back the old version of Earth 2. Let's not do the whole cluster earth again.

[jbwbubba]

Also what they did to Time Drake, who had really come into his own before Flashpointe.

[neonrideraryeh]

I really am getting fed up with everybody trying to go back to the 80s Titans. They grew up, they don't need to be regressed back decades. With the exception of a pretty weak cartoon, DC have mostly moved on from this. The Teen Titans are a different line-up now; even before the New 52 started, they were no longer that old lineup. I don't need people's nostalgia from decades ago messing with current comics. Sheesh, some comic "fans" are more resistant to change than a religious institution. It'd be like multiple One More Days at once. Yeah, the people who keep clamouring for this probably were TeamMephisto as well. It's like a broken record now. I hear somebody whine about wanting the 80s Titans and it translates as "back in my day sonnyboy, we had to walk three hundred miles just to get to the other side of the house and we had to like it ya ingrates, kids these days *coughhacksplutter*". Or they liked the cartoon from a few years back and think that makes them able to dictate the comics even though most of them weren't fully in character in order to be kid friendly. So they ended up shocked when they learned that Starfire had sexual agency even though she's always been like that and that wasn't new to RH&tO. I for one welcome the ever-changing lineup of the Teen Titans. Plus characters like Grayson, Starfire and Cyborg have never been better recently and I don't want that to be undone.

But sure, we do need a creative team switch for Teen Titans because we've recently had a bunch of teen books where they try to "capture the youth" by sticking twitter posts all over the page. Did anybody read Inhumanity the Awakening, it was not good.

[jeffdouglasmess]

Love this article! Is DC listening? Come on. They need to get a whole new array of writers and editors onboard. Namely people who remember the classic era, and the reasons comics worked in the first place!
Just to prove how passionate I am, here's a link to my website, where I have a Legion revival pitch ready to go! I've been talking to industry people, including Paul Levitz, Mike Gold, and others, as I move forward. I'm serious. DC needs serious people who "get it" to take the reigns of books like The Legion, and make comics fun again!

http://jeffdouglasmesser.vpweb.com/c...iter-ambitions

[londeaux]

Also, when they made Cyborg a founding member of the Justice League instead of the Martian Manhunter, I guess this where PC comes in. If they wanted a non-white "human" character why not Apache Chief, Black Lightning, or Black Vulcan? Why a second generation Titan?