I want to preface this with that, despite what's happening, I still favour DC over Marvel if forced to choose. I simply find myself drawn more to the situations and stories brought forth by the cast of DC. Yes, I will admit, DC has had a fair few hits and misses in the last few years, with their treatment of Dick Grayson being hideously unfair at the top of my gripes.
That being said, for the first time since I really got into comics, I find myself concerned, mainly over the decisions made about some of the characters, Superman especially. If you haven't seen them already, a series of solicitations have been released for issues coming out in June, featuring the main cast with remarkably different costumes and profiles. before I continue, I want to make sure folks are aware of possible spoilers from this point on.
Given most circumstances, a lot of the new things coming in June suggest that the general continuity will be changed, quite significantly. To reflect this, the company's biggest three heroes have been visually adjusted to reflect this new change. Out of the three, I feel that Wonder Woman's new costume is a great change, and works to provide something of a more practical adjustment to her original look, without simply taking away that iconic image she's had for the longest time.
http://i.newsarama.com/images/i/000/144/539/original/WW_Cv41.jpg?1426179158
The arm blades could probably go, though.
Batman's a tricky one. Over the course of Endgame, it turns out that the Joker was an immortal being with access to something that's like a Lazarus-pit-but-totally-isn't-a-Lazarus-pit-you-guys.Having decided it's time to end the game with Batman, he enacts a plan that basically damages stuff to the Nth degree, chops of Alfred's hand and then Joker and Batman end up buried under rocks with no access to some immortality granting resource.
Despite the majority of us to be aware that Bruce will no doubt come back, with the Joker to boot, the new solicitations indicate a mysterious new Batman in a suit of powered armour. I am unsure how to think of it. Granted, a new Batman would be ideal, as I felt Bruce's character become somewhat hard to like as time went on, and a power-armour Batman is something I would like to see, but I get this strange feeling that this Batman is going to be the type to be more ruthless and ultimately prone to going over the line.
I don't think the smoking pistol helps.
http://i.newsarama.com/images/i/000/144/390/original/BM_Cv41.jpg?1425958854
And then there's Superman.
Some might argue that the T-Shirt look isn't as bad as most might expect, and I'm inclined to agree. It worked for Superboy, and I believe that Clark Kent can work it well enough, but that's not the concern I draw from this. Instead, it's the general tone that the images portray to the character, the perpetual frown the guy has on his face in every solicitation that seems to come along with this. The short crew cut, the darker tones and the way each one is drawn doesn't present the Superman I'm typically used to seeing, the Superman that I have become such a huge fan of.
http://i.newsarama.com/images/i/000/144/551/original/AC_Cv411.jpg?1426180599
Again, it's not the costume itself, the casual nature of it, but its just... every time I see these images I don't see a proud, upstanding man who's doing what he can with the abilities he has to help make this world a better place. Instead, what I see is a thug, a brute, a bully with nothing else on his mind other than apathy and disinterest, a Superman who would really rather be doing something else. In these solicitations, I just see a guy who's bored, and not someone who treats his alter ego and the task he has set upon himself as a passion. After all, by his own admission, it's not the powers that made him Superman, at least not any more, but the desire to do what is right and help people.
http://i.newsarama.com/images/i/000/144/543/original/smww_cv18_r1.jpg?1426180002
The significant change to Superman in this is that due to tests of Superman's new Super Flare power, a recent fight has caused a very, very detailed and up close picture of his face to be taken, and when walking into work one morning, Lois Lane makes the connection that Clark Kent and Superman are one in the same. With the new major storyline being 'Truth', and with Superman's identity being revealed, smart money is on Lois deciding that violating Superman's privacy is worth a Pulitzer and publishes this fact instead of discussing it with her friend and colleague first.
So... yeah, forgive me if it seems whiny, it does looking back on all of it, but a part of me feels that, to pull changes such as these, then some damn good writing should be done to pull it all off. Granted, I was pleased to find early on down the line that the destruction of Earth 2 didn't necessarily mean that the Earth 2 storyline, which was looking pretty neat as a basis was over. it's not all doom and gloom, at least I hope it isn't.
What kind of thoughts do you guys have on the upcoming changes to DC's series? Good? Bad? Not interested?
Hmmm...I like the new Wonder Woman costume. The new Batman character intrigues me. I am not too sure what to make of the new Superman costume though.
Formerly known as Bleddyn
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WCqnt88Umk]Do you want to be a hero?[/url]
[url=http://cityoftitans.com/forum/nyktoss-character-cove] My characters [/url]
Sorry, WW's costume changes always come off as "We trying to get rid of the leotard because there's people who don't read the comic, never will read the comic, but will constantly complain about a leotard"
The blades are suckie as well, but I just get the feeling the don't want WW using the lasso or just punching often.
Superman's costume sucks too! It worked for Connor, but again what are they trying to do? Just get away from spandex? Lame!
Batman. While it's not Bruce, with all his tech and money, I truthfully don't know why he doesn't go all Iron Man, so he can stand up with the rest of the JL anyways. Even make fighting street crime a bit easier when he doesn't need stealth (face it, Iron Man suit does not equal stealth :p)
The leotard was that much of an issue for some people? Some of my favorite female superheroes either wore leotards (Raven) or spandex (Rouge)
Formerly known as Bleddyn
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WCqnt88Umk]Do you want to be a hero?[/url]
[url=http://cityoftitans.com/forum/nyktoss-character-cove] My characters [/url]
While I have recently in CO given my main a unitard version of her leotard outfit to use every now and again, I stick mostly with the leotard BECAUSE people have complained about leotards. :p At least WW's isn't a thong leotard, which my main's is :p
I've even laughed at how my main in a thong leotard, still shows less skin than some other hero outfits.
Okay I don't read comic... used to just a don't have the desire anymore. B to many changes for me to care. I was a major follower.,.. then um... Crises infinite earth, Flashpoint, Marvel's Ultimate universe, and Civil war. Just got to many big things and not enough personal stories to keep me interested. Guess I outgrew them.
From my artistic view. Wonderwoman, I like the look just not the blades. Wonderwoman I never took as a slash and cut type fighter. The armor itself reminds me more of European then Greek/Amazon. The shoulder armor I see more of an European style. Still good looking just not sure if it saids Amazon Princess Warrior Goddess. So for me Drop the blades and the shoulder armor and it's good.
Batman... um sure logical Batman might have taken the Ironman way. But story wise he didn't he went stealthy ninja. Ironman armor screams Range Tank, Batman was all about sneaking and scrapper/rogue Ninja fighting. He didn't come at you face to face he's the shadow you back up into. No way that armor is Stealthy. Nor strike fear, I can see someone going "Cool Gear... oh crap you going to bust me." Instead of going "CRAP IT"S BATMAN!" Really If you see that armor you think Military bad ass, Power Ranger, Not Ninja Master. Really with those big things on the helmet he looks more like ANTMAN then BATMAN. Think about it.
Superman... Um is that superman? Looks more like Superboy just with a blue shirt instead of black.
[img]http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11120/111201866/4286481-superboy.jpg[/img]
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A comic shop just opened in my town, so for the first time in over 20 years I went and bought some comics. I got the issue of Superman that you were talking about. I didn't phase me because it just looked like another story and I expected that things would go back to normal in time. Lois used to think she had proof that Clark Kent was Superman almost every month. If they're really planning to expose him that sucks.
Not excited about Batman in Armor either. Not wearing armor is literally the only thing that makes him different from Iron Man.
The only time I ever cared about Wonder Woman at all was in the mid 80s when George Perez was doing the book. Nothing they do with her is likely to phase me.
I don't like changing established characters.
I would greatly prefer if they came up with new characters when they want to do new things.
If I could, I would start my own comic company featuring the characters from the Paladin Universe. Seen in my book The Knights of Saint George.
I think it would be cool.
It's fun to dream.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse/pub/3185/Crusader-Game-Books
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48O9dPcNVdeyNM4efAvX6w/videos?view_as=subscriber
From what I understand, this post-Convergence line of titles from DC isn't a reboot of any sort. It will still be the New 52. There are just a LOT of reshuffles happening in terms of writers & artists, new titles being launched, old titles being cancelled, new storylines starting up, and, as you noted in the opening post, old characters getting new looks as cued by their respective storylines.
1. Superman
- The look doesn't bother me, being a callback less to Superboy and more to Grant Morrison's run on Action Comics when the New 52 first launched. This is Clark going back to one of his own older looks (in the current continuity). I'm less enthused over the reason for the look. It sounds like an ill-considered effort to drive sales, attempting to explore the Superman mythos without one of its most endearing qualities. The problem, though, is that without another reboot, I'm not really sure how this genie gets put back in the bottle, and I don't get the impression DC is planning another reboot any time soon.
2. Batman
- This is the one I am most OK with. This is clearly a temporary replacement until the storyline is published that brings back Bruce Wayne, in whatever fashion they want to bring him back. In the meantime, Optimus-Prime Batman gets to entertain the troops. I'll read that comic.
3. Wonder Woman
- That costume is terrible. When it comes to premier DC heroes using arm blades, let's all agree that Hawkman is the only one who can pull that one off. Even without those, though, this outfit bores the tears out of me. I guess it doesn't really matter all that much. Of the three, this costume actually seems the most transient, the least impactful. As soon as someone takes over the Wonder Woman title from the Finches, this costume will be gone faster than you can blink. If I want a more traditional Wonder Woman fix, DC has not one, but two out-of-continuity titles that are being published - Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman (kind of a revolving artist & writer Wonder Woman anthology) and the upcoming Wonder Woman '77, featuring comic stories set in the world of the old Lynda Carter TV series. I have been avidly reading the former and am looking forward to the latter.
never been a huge DC fan....but Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Wonder Woman have always interested me for various reasons.
The problem I see at this time with comics in general is they changing things up (universe wide) every couple years....or at least making the attempts to in order to lure new readers. as such, we keep seeing "issue #1" for multiple titles over an over and that is just lame and honestly, shows a lack of imagination in coming up with new story lines for extremely well established characters (this applies to both companies Marvel and DC). given this state of constant reboots...I have absolutely zero desire to get back into comics and if anything it is driving me farther away.
in regards to Wonder WOmans costume....yeah, there is a very vocal group out there that is dead set against her classic look...callingit sexist, etc etc etc. to those people I say: get over it folks, it's a freakin comic book and if anything I would say she is actually a very good role model and represents the strength of women on the whole very very well. so stop worrying over what she is wearing and look at the bigger picture... ...I really hate people enmass...they are dumb cattle...
[img]http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/whiteperegrine/84183/69278/69278_original.gif[/img]
See that argument would work moreso for the fantasy genre were you see good female soldiers (not mages or thief types mind you, it's usually the soldiers) often get portrayed with chainmail bikinis. That potrayal simply is not anything other then fanservice usually as it is horribly impractical in such a setting were more armor potentially means a better chance of surviving in combat.
But that does not work for a superhero setting at all. Female superheroes wearing leotards, bikinis, or whatever revealing outfit usually have powers like invulnerability, regeneration, or agility to offset that. The very most they would probably suffer is clothing damage and even then heroes in general wear some pretty strong stuff. The only issue I have with it if it's all the author focuses on (the infamous Fanservice tropes from Tv Tropes, Male Gaze specifically) when it comes to a female character.
There is quite a few badass female heroes that wear spandex. Why do those people not read comics for them? I don't quite understand the attitude that badass female heroes some how are any less badass if they wear something more revealing then spandex or casual clothing.
Formerly known as Bleddyn
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WCqnt88Umk]Do you want to be a hero?[/url]
[url=http://cityoftitans.com/forum/nyktoss-character-cove] My characters [/url]
I certainly can't speak for others, but my personal hatred of Wonder Woman's new costume doesn't really have anything to do with the amount of flesh shown. There has probably been hundreds of temporary or proposed variations of Wonder Woman's costume, including some that put more clothes on her. I like some of those. I just don't like this particular new one because it is ugly.
There was a pretty big uproar over this costume when it came out...
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_super/11/119715/2263754-wonder_woman__7_.jpg
I loved it, though. I'd much rather see her go back to that costume rather than wear that new one.
I kinda liked the jacket look, to be honest.
Anyway, as an update, a few more things have been revealed to a degree.
Earth 2's new Batman after the death of Thomas Wayne is looking to be Dick Grayson, who is seen attaching a batarang to his chest after Deimos destroys Brainiac and takes over being Convergence's Big Bad.
Meanwhile, the Divergence event preview shows that Superman's new look might be, in part, losing his identity as Clark Kent. Lots of Media hate and villains hunting him down to get revenge while he bounces between motels while on the run. Lois Lane tries to patch things up and is shunned by Clark for appropriate reasons.
Meanwhile, I find myself more inclined to feel that the new Batman will probably be more like his predecessor than I give him credit for, given that Commissioner Gordon is the one inside the suit (which explains why there are elements of the suit that suggest ties with the police). Commisioner Gordon as Batman, in any context, is actually kinda neat, and I might have to buy an issue to see how that plays out.
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I just took a look at the new Wonder Woman costume for the first time.
It has a leather jacket, which is always a good thing for heroes without capes
but it doesn't really seem to fit someone like her,
and I don't like it.
It's definitely not about the amount of skin showing but
as a general rule, I don't like superhero costumes that look like civilian clothes,
even if they're rock star versions of normal.
There are some exceptions, but this is not one.
I especially don't like it when the hero is being changed from a traditional costume to a more civilian look.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse/pub/3185/Crusader-Game-Books
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48O9dPcNVdeyNM4efAvX6w/videos?view_as=subscriber
I think you saw an older one of hers. Unless they just added it, she doesn't have a jacket with her new outfit.
Oh, I just clicked the link on Hatut Zeraze's post
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse/pub/3185/Crusader-Game-Books
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48O9dPcNVdeyNM4efAvX6w/videos?view_as=subscriber