Did Anything Important Happen Between New 52 and Rebirth?

[GlennSimpson]

Also everybody forgot Garth was ever Aqualad. But everybody remembered that Robin existed and had been Batman's sidekick. And that Speedy worked with Green Arrow, but the "considerably younger sidekick" bit seemed to have faded out. The effects were a pretty random clustermess (if you'll excuse the expression), when you come right down to it.

I kinda like that the effects were not uniform. Gives a better sense that it was a desperate move.

[brandnewfan]

Haha nice. Is that really it?? Makes me glad I skipped all that New 52 stuff.

I mean, was any of it any good?

Brian Azzarello's Wonder Woman is literally an epic story.

There were actually several great books, and a few bad. The bad sometimes overshadows the great because they were just SOOOOO bad. (Honestly, who decided to give Liefeld so much work?)

But anyway, the continuity in Rebirth is the same continuity from the New 52. This isn't a continuation at all of the pre-Flashpoint universe. So everything in the New 52 still counts.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

That pretty much covers the in-continuity stuff, the meta answer is Dan Didio saw the sales plummet and panicked. He used this as an excuse to do what he'd wanted to do since Final Crisis and rebooted everything while telling everyone it was only a soft reboot like Post-Crisis, but was actually a hard reboot of the DCU if it was happening in 1992. He then allowed editorial mismanagement of various kinds drive away so many readers and creators, he had no choice but to reverse course while also keeping the reboot and hoping it all works out before he gets fired.

[GlennSimpson]

That pretty much covers the in-continuity stuff, the meta answer is Dan Didio saw the sales plummet and panicked. He used this as an excuse to do what he'd wanted to do since Final Crisis and rebooted everything while telling everyone it was only a soft reboot like Post-Crisis, but was actually a hard reboot of the DCU if it was happening in 1992. He then allowed editorial mismanagement of various kinds drive away so many readers and creators, he had no choice but to reverse course while also keeping the reboot and hoping it all works out before he gets fired.

Or to put it another way....

Warner Brothers saw DC's sales continuing to slowly plunge over 5-6 years, and passed down an edict that DC had to get sales up by the end of 2011. So DC considered their options and eventually settled on it being a reboot. Since they didn't have a lot of time to get it together, they used some materials that were already being produced for the post-Brightest Day storylines and various new pitches that had recently come in. They also knew that a certain percentage of their fanbase might not like it, so like any big company they put a certain kind of spin on things at the beginning. Because of the short time frame, some communication errors crept in, but overall it gained DC tremendous sales and was a great success for them, keeping sales above 2010 levels until such time as they felt they needed to do another push.

[scary harpy]

Re: Red Robin and the restaurant chain - where I live, we have a string of car washes called Red Arrow. The name thing really isn't a big deal. At worst, they probably don't have Red Robin restaurants in the DCU.

True. I'd still prefer Tim be called Robin Red or Redwing.

I'm sure the DCU has green arrows and red arrows as traffic signals. I don't think that is a big deal.

[RobinFan4880]

That pretty much covers the in-continuity stuff, the meta answer is Dan Didio saw the sales plummet and panicked. He used this as an excuse to do what he'd wanted to do since Final Crisis and rebooted everything while telling everyone it was only a soft reboot like Post-Crisis, but was actually a hard reboot of the DCU if it was happening in 1992. He then allowed editorial mismanagement of various kinds drive away so many readers and creators, he had no choice but to reverse course while also keeping the reboot and hoping it all works out before he gets fired.

We know the WB told DC to reboot. It was an order from on high.

They were forced to radically change course mid-stream, which is why many of the older plot elements were carried over across the reboot.

DC did not have a strong plan for the New 52 because they had no time to plan for it. This is why Jim Lee is quoted as saying Batman had been active for 10 years. it is why some said it was a hard reboot and other a soft.

Also, you act like Dan Dido is the head of DC when he isn't. Jim Lee has the same position as Dan. There are other higher ups within DC, one of who even outranks Dan.

True. I'd still prefer Tim be called Robin Red or Redwing.

I'm sure the DCU has green arrows and red arrows as traffic signals. I don't think that is a big deal.

Redwing is the name of Falcon's bird. That is a no go from the get go.

[colonyofcells]

I am not sure if it is important but I seem to remember earth 2 blowing up.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Or to put it another way....

Warner Brothers saw DC's sales continuing to slowly plunge over 5-6 years, and passed down an edict that DC had to get sales up by the end of 2011. So DC considered their options and eventually settled on it being a reboot. Since they didn't have a lot of time to get it together, they used some materials that were already being produced for the post-Brightest Day storylines and various new pitches that had recently come in. They also knew that a certain percentage of their fanbase might not like it, so like any big company they put a certain kind of spin on things at the beginning. Because of the short time frame, some communication errors crept in, but overall it gained DC tremendous sales and was a great success for them, keeping sales above 2010 levels until such time as they felt they needed to do another push.

TomAYto, tomAHto

[upgrayedd]

What else? hmmmm

Aquaman was raped

Ted Kord is alive, he was a teenager but now is a guy in his late 20's or early 30's

Lobo is a metrosexual pretty boy.

good times indeed.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

We know the WB told DC to reboot. It was an order from on high.

Diane Nelson was put in charge of DC Entertainment and wanted to stop the plummeting sales, yes, but I have never heard that she ordered a line-wide reboot.

You're also right that Didio wasn't the only one driving into the rocks, Jim Lee was also there to design the costumes that made the reboot look horribly dated almost immediately

[GlennSimpson]

Diane Nelson was put in charge of DC Entertainment and wanted to stop the plummeting sales, yes, but I have never heard that she ordered a line-wide reboot.

You're also right that Didio wasn't the only one driving into the rocks, Jim Lee was also there to design the costumes that made the reboot look horribly dated almost immediately

I doubt Warners specifically ordered a reboot, but they did want something to get sales up. A reboot is pretty much the only thing that was going to get the kind of attention required.

[scary harpy]

Redwing is the name of Falcon's bird. That is a no go from the get go.

Redwing was also the name of heroine in the Team Titans series.

[SmokeMonster]

Haha nice. Is that really it?? Makes me glad I skipped all that New 52 stuff.

I mean, was any of it any good?

A lot of it was really good. You can search one of the many threads about the best of New 52.

[Jonte]

I'm genuinely asking. As far as New 52 goes, what are the major takeaways?

Briefly: I was pretty hardcore into DC comics from the lead-up to Infinite Crisis (circa the Geoff Johns Green Lantern: Rebirth) up until New 52. I stopped reading monthly titles when New 52 hit because I hated the whole concept (plus, I was in law school and didn't have a lot of time).

Now that the New 52 era has come to a close, I want to jump back in for all the Rebirth stuff. I've already read some of it, but I'm just wondering if there are a few major things to know about from the New 52 era that are relevant to Rebirth (for instance, why is Superman missing?) and some brief background on what I need to know.

I'm well-versed in general DCU continuity and history, so you can assume I speak the language. I've just been a little out of the loop for a few years! Any help would be much appreciated.

Look forward to Dc Universe vs The Watchmen starring Dr Manhattan and Oz (Ozymandias from watchmen probably)

[RobinFan4880]

Diane Nelson was put in charge of DC Entertainment and wanted to stop the plummeting sales, yes, but I have never heard that she ordered a line-wide reboot.

You're also right that Didio wasn't the only one driving into the rocks, Jim Lee was also there to design the costumes that made the reboot look horribly dated almost immediately

Well you also have Bob Harras who is the EiC of DC. Geoff Johns who is the the Chief Creative Officer. Both of these guys had a lot of say in what DC has been doing overt he last 5 years, yet they almost never get any hate. Why? Johns is a beloved creator and Harras is not the public face of the company.

Over at Marvel, people rag on Quesada a ton. Why? Because he is the face of the company.