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| Justice League of America (Vol.3) #1 |
DC Comics recently announced the cancellations of six of
their titles, three of them featuring fairly well known characters. The Savage
Hawkman, Firestorm, Deathstroke, The Ravagers, Team 7 and Sword of Sorcery all
got the boot, making way for new titles to take their place come spring/summer
of this year. When I first saw the lineup of New 52 titles I was skeptical of
the lesser known titles, worried that they wouldn’t be anywhere as successful
as mainstream heroes like Batman or Superman, which would lead to their
cancellation. This has happened to a lot of those ‘underdog’ series. The
biggest problem with trying to make these series successful is that their
popularity will never match the already established series, which still begs
the question as to why Hawkman or Deathstroke were cancelled, but then again,
maybe upper management wasn’t happy with their recent profits, or maybe the
creative teams weren’t happy with where the stories were going, I’m not sure.
What I am sure of is the replacement titles coming later
this year, which include: Threshold, Constantine, Katana, JLA’s Vibe, Justice
League of America, and Superman: Man of Steel. The two that strike the most
intrigue would be Geoff Johns and David Finch’s JLA, which will focus on a new
team of heroes, separate from the original Justice League, featuring Martian
Manhunter, Green Arrow and the return of Hawkman, right after his cancellation,
and Scott Snyder and Jim Lee’s new Superman series, which will again examine
his outsider role in Metropolis. As excited as I am for these new series, the
same old problem still remains with half of them. Will they be able to sell as
much as the “regulars” or be as popular? Maybe not, which is why I’ve compiled
a short list of ‘could-be’ titles that DC could use come the next
cancellations.
A fan favorite from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon
series, The Question can introduce a more serious, mature feel to the New 52.
With more sophisticated stories involving detective work, mysteries and good old,
non-super powered, badass crime fighting, I believe this character would create
a cool, new, noir-like setting not seen in any other series and would become a
popular series, just because its so different.
Captain Marvel
Surprisingly, DC has yet to affectively use one of their
more popular characters, especially one who is, in reality, a normal kid who,
with the utter of one powerful word, becomes one of the most powerful heroes on
the planet. Not only would young Billy Batson appeal to the relatable aspects
of young readers, but would give the creative team some humorous situations to
create, considering that even in his super powered body, Captain Marvel is
still just a ten year-old kid. And if they really want to mix things up, the
origin of Shazam could also be revisited or altered to add change.
The Atom
Not Captain Atom, but Ray Palmer, a scientist specializing
in microscopic science, with the ability to decrease his size to that of an
atom. If this were to ever become a series, it would certainly feature less
action then any mainstream title, but as I recall, some of the best comic
series are based on good story, not good fights. The Atom would be a series
focusing on scientific problems, mostly microscopic, which would then fall into
the responsibility of Palmer. The microscopic adventures could make for some
pretty cool visuals as well. Okay, so if the Atom isn’t the best choice to have
a solo title, at least put him in the new Justice League of America.
Brainiac
By now, this villain has already been used in Action Comics
and will most likely be used in future Superman stories, but what I’m
suggesting is a series based solely on the villain, with no mention of Superman
or anything like that. The series would explore Brainiac’s origins, whether it
is from Krypton or somewhere else. The premise would follow Brainiac as he
travels the universe, interacting with alien worlds, collecting data of the
universe and destroying worlds. It could delve into why he seeks the answers to
everything or why he must kill to do so. It would be a series unlike anything
currently in the New 52, a series focused on the villain, as apposed to the
hero.
Crime Syndicate of Earth-3
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| "Syndicate Rules!" |
The New 52 has already created an Earth-2 title, examining
alternate versions of our favorite heroes, loosely based on younger versions of
the Justice Society. Earth-3 would focus primarily on a world controlled by the
all-powerful Crime Syndicate (Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, etc), alternate,
evil versions of the Justice League. This would be yet another series based on
the villains as apposed to the heroes but I think it would be very successful
and give us a lot of diversity. Plus, I think that exploring alternate
universes is very cool, which is why I like Earth-2 so much. A series based on
the Syndicate and their battles against the heroes of Earth-3, good-hearted
versions of the Legion of Doom. Damn, I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
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