DC 5G: the Replacements

[brettc1]

I’m not shelling out $3.99 an issue for the privilege of sitting the middle of DC’s latest viagra-fueled jerk circle

[Dataweaver]

My take on this is the same as my take on Flashforward: I'm not buying it until I get some positive feedback from someone who's skeptical of it.

[Dred]

You can not give fans options for everything. DC has a finite amount of books they can make, both from the amount they can ship and from the amount of talent they have under contract. The idea of saying "Well they should just make ALL of these comics for ALL of these characters" defies any sense of logistics. Think of how many DC characters you think it would be cool if they finally got their own comic, then add up how many extra comics that would be on top of what they're already publishing. You can't say "Comics about new characters are fine so long as they always make all of these other comics, too!" You're just saying they shouldn't make the comics at that point, because someone likes every comic being published right now.

[Nine Crocodile]

At the end of the day,I will check this out and buy what I like, like everything else in comics.

[BroHomo]

I’m not shelling out $3.99 an issue for the privilege of sitting the middle of DC’s latest viagra-fueled jerk circle

Damn is this really what's going on at DC Comics? I've been wasting my time reading Marvel

[Frontier]

Just condensing all my thoughts about 5G and the possible mantle changes:

Batman - Feels too soon after Superheavy. Obviously there's the diversity angle that's important, but I'm not sure if Luke Fox can carry the mantle, especially when they're giving it to him because of how disconnected he is. Feels like it'll just be a Batman Beyond type thing when they already have Terry.

Superman - Aging Jon up to a teenager and giving him the Legion over Clark was controversial enough, but doing yet another age up to make him Superman? Do we really have to rush this kid so much?

Wonder Woman - DC hardly ever gives Diana the proper spotlight and quality of work that she deserves and now they just up and replace her? And potentially sequester her to a WWII team book? Even as a fan of the JSA, I find that disappointing.

Aquaman - I like Kaldur/Jackson and while it would make for some nice synergy with Young Justice, once again it would feel weird to see DC take a character and property that's recently made a major upswing in public consciousness and then replace them after hardly making the most of that success.

Flash - Flash is a mantle about legacy so replacements aren't all that surprising, but I'm not sure if a new Flash can catch on at this point after Wally and the big Barry push. Is Barry Allen no longer the be-all end-all Flash anymore? Or will this new Flash be like the old Flashes and just get all the traits and elements of the previous successful Flash?

Green Lantern - I don't really see the big deal when there are already, like, 8 active Earth Green Lanterns at this point (or feels like it). My only issue is if the new one is yet another new Earth Lantern DC ends up creating.

[Zaresh]

So far it seems to be leaning towards:

Luke Fox - Batman

Jon Kent - Superman

Jackson Hyde - Aquaman

I'm curious to see how much legs the 5G initiative has, especially depending on whether they are wholesale replacing the main heroes or will be published alongside the main ones in their own stories. Things aren't too clear on that front.

Heh.

I still think it's funny how they're choosing characters who have certain history with Damian, but keep him out of his logical role as Batman. Because him as Batman is apparently the obvious choice. Because it apparently makes much sense for Batman to give the cowl to Luke.

They seem to be filling the other leaaguers seats with people who are from Damian's "gen" (arguable for Aqualad, I know).

This choice could be interesting, but I think it's very, very risky. You cant just make it work for the readers without the proper built up.

Now, if Damian isn't Robin there (I just can't see him operating as anything less that a big name in the league with someone like Luke taking in his father's legacy. Luke is someone that has been barely there in the background of the batfam), and I don't think they will give him Nightwing's mantle (because I think they want to bring back Dick as he's supposed to be: they just don't know how yet), I wonder if they are to make him take into his own name, or making him pass for some 'league' period (his mother's side league, I mean) ultil LukeBats ends.

And I really, really would like a female Flash (because Wally is not going to get it. And neither are Bart or Wallace, or at least I don't see them doing that. But heh, if they make Kid Flash, that would be another leaguer with ties to Damian).

[vasir12]

Speaking of, where exactly are these GLs. I can only account for 3 of them. I don't think I've seen Baz in a while...

[Frontier]

Speaking of, where exactly are these GLs. I can only account for 3 of them. I don't think I've seen Baz in a while...

I don't think Kyle's been seen since Titans ended.

I think Guy was in a recent special...or Snyder's Justice League, I forget.

I don't think anyone's seen Simon since...No Justice, maybe?

[vasir12]

Ah. Well. Maybe they need to cut down there.

Which again makes me wonder what the older heroes will do when they get replaced. Assuming they can have positive transitions:

Batman is the most "certain" since BC said he'll be mentoring Fox like in Batman Beyond. This would imply a retired Bruce who's in hiding(?)

I hope Clark either becomes a more cosmic focused hero or a leader of that galactic federation he just helped build.

Diana I could see either leading Paradise Island since her mom has been having it rough lately or just become the god of love.

Maybe Aquaman and Mera ACTUALLY get married and settle down? Become rulers that don't leave every five minutes. Real conflict of interest there.

Hal... Idk. Doesn't seem like the type to settle down. Maybe take on a more administrative role.

Barry is the biggest head scratcher for me. I have no idea what he'd do.

[Dataweaver]

Die? (I kid; I kid.)

More seriously though: he could marry Iris and settle down in the 31st century to raise a family.

[protege]

Just condensing all my thoughts about 5G and the possible mantle changes:

Batman - Feels too soon after Superheavy. Obviously there's the diversity angle that's important, but I'm not sure if Luke Fox can carry the mantle, especially when they're giving it to him because of how disconnected he is. Feels like it'll just be a Batman Beyond type thing when they already have Terry.

Superman - Aging Jon up to a teenager and giving him the Legion over Clark was controversial enough, but doing yet another age up to make him Superman? Do we really have to rush this kid so much?

Wonder Woman - DC hardly ever gives Diana the proper spotlight and quality of work that she deserves and now they just up and replace her? And potentially sequester her to a WWII team book? Even as a fan of the JSA, I find that disappointing.

Aquaman - I like Kaldur/Jackson and while it would make for some nice synergy with Young Justice, once again it would feel weird to see DC take a character and property that's recently made a major upswing in public consciousness and then replace them after hardly making the most of that success.

Flash - Flash is a mantle about legacy so replacements aren't all that surprising, but I'm not sure if a new Flash can catch on at this point after Wally and the big Barry push. Is Barry Allen no longer the be-all end-all Flash anymore? Or will this new Flash be like the old Flashes and just get all the traits and elements of the previous successful Flash?

Green Lantern - I don't really see the big deal when there are already, like, 8 active Earth Green Lanterns at this point (or feels like it). My only issue is if the new one is yet another new Earth Lantern DC ends up creating.

Another earth lantern that will spend surprisingly little time on earth.

[HandofPrometheus]

I'm looking at future solicitations and this 5G thing might be real...Morrison is taking Hal out of GL stuff and that was probably the first hint of Hal getting "replaced". Morrison is also getting rid of the GLC as told in a solicitation.

GREEN LANTERN: BLACKSTARS #1
"What has Hal Jordan done? Following the catastrophic events of The Green Lantern #12, no Green Lanterns can be found patrolling their space sectors...and not a single power ring lights the darkness. Across the universe, once-familiar faces now wear a different uniform and enforce a new type of galactic law. The Green Lantern Corps is dead—long live the Blackstars! Who are they? What are they? Answers will be revealed as the unstoppable Blackstars set their sights on the demons of Ysmault, Mongul...and a tiny, backwater planet called Earth. A dangerous new chapter of the Green Lantern mythology starts now!

[Decoy]

Well, there’s talk of Teen Lantern becoming the Main GL (not surprising seeing as how Bendis already had a similar Teenager get the high powered armor and replace the established hero bit in Iron Man)......

Will the villains be replaced too? Or will there be a mix of established foes and new takes on old villains? (Like a second Mirror Master, a upgraded Metallo, another Luthor)

I wonder if we’ll see Batgirl and Supergirl as the older heroes (I don’t think there’s any Kryptonian teenage girls running around other than Kara)......imagine.....Batwoman and Superwoman/ Power Girl.....

[Agent Z]

But where is this notion coming from that people should either accept anything publishers throws at them, or just shut up if they don't like it. Some fans can indeed go over the line unfortunately, but it's an incredibly dirty tactic to accuse your fandom of bigotry for simply voicing displeasure when their favorites are being replaced with characters who they could perceive have never earned those mantles. I think context matters, in the case of Batman there's a reasonable argument to be made against why are they reportedly choosing Luke Fox over Dick Grayson. Some people would not want to buy a Batman comic without Bruce on the cover and that's just the way it is, especially if Bruce's replacement is a character who was never seen as a successor of his. Controversies like that aren't just the fault of the fans, the discontent also comes from the general lack of better communication between fans and creators.

Sam Wilson was a long running Captain America supporting character and had served on the Avengers for decades. Him becoming Captain America was still met with more controversy than when Bucky Barnes, a character who had been dead since 1968 and was then revived temporarily as a villain, took up the Captain America mantle.
To say nothing of the backlash Kamala Khan got for using a codename that no one was using at the time.

Preach.

My lack of interest in Luke Fox as Batman has nothing to do with Luke being black. I wouldn't be any more interested if it was Tim or Jason or some random new white guy who came out of the ether. Dick is the ONLY character I'd like to see as Batman II, and even then I'm still not interested in a long term replacement for Bruce. Bruce is Batman is Bruce.

Nobody wants to see their favorites replaced. If the character on the cover is not the one they signed on for, they aren't gonna buy it. I'd likely be more in favor of Nubia becoming the new Wonder Woman over whoever they are actually going to go with, but I'm still not likely to buy a WW comic that doesn't feature the actual character I want to read about when I buy a comic with her name as the title.

I agree that no one wants to see their favorites replaced. The problem that skyvolt was pointing to is the completely uncalled for and immature behavior over the replacement of characters that are absolutely guaranteed to return. It would be one thing to say, “I have no interest in Luke Fox as Batman” but more often than not, that is not the end of it. You get death threats directed towards employees, hate campaigns created before a single issue has hit shelves, multiple videos about how much this new replacement sucks (often by people who don’t even read the books) and just overall embarrassing behavior that taints the entire fandom.