DC to REBOOT???

[Admiral_Young]

I'm very excited for that! That was a big announcement. Batman panel just finished up. A fan asked how many Robins will there have been in the relaunch and Mike Marts said four, so that says to me Stephanie Brown has been totally taken out of the equation if they're not even acknowledging Steph as Robin IV any more which is disappointing.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Gotham Podcast live-tweeted the Batman panel at SDCC.

Stephanie still exists in the DCnu. Barbara is just out of college (so she's been de-aged, as she's currently at least thirty). Detective Gage from Miller's Batgirl is likely to appear in Simone's Batgirl. DC is still working out what to do with Cass and Steph.

 

[Myasishchev]

No plans for Wally?

Perhaps if some of the animated fare had used Cassandra then that statement wouldn't be true. Babs is only "most recognizable" due to her mass media exposure in the role. Certainly not due to her holding of a title with solo adventures. While I'm a Steph fan I realize she only has 25 issues under her belt and no animated exposure in the role. However, Cass had what 70+issues? She easily could've been used in an animated role as Batgirl and should have imo.

Cass is conceivably a little too dark for an animated series.

"So, Batgirl, how did you get involved in fighting crime?"
"I'm a feral human who was routinely and savagely beaten for the first fourteen or so years of my life, and eventually shaped into an assassin who killed a man in cold blood. But I feel bad about it."*

*Translated from the incoherent gargles of a person who wasn't taught any language between the ages of zero and ten.

On the other hand, it's not like "I watched my parents bleed out on the pavement, whispering prayers through mouthfulls of blood" or "I watched my parents fall for what seemed like an eternity, before their necks and skulls shattered like china on the ground" would be origin stories particularly conducive to light-hearted fun. Babs' (Batgirl) origin doesn't even belong in the Bat-family. "I was bored and I felt like punching evil!"

This is another reason why The Killing Joke, and Oracle, are important. "I was randomly shot in the spine by someone who didn't even know I was Batgirl" fits in a little better in the utterly fallen world of Bruce Wayne.

For those feeling nostalgic for the prelaunch DCU, IDW and DC are doing a Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes crossover this fall that is, according to press materials, set circa "The Great Darkness Saga," which would even make it pre-Crisis.

You know, I like spaghetti and I like chocalate, but I don't think I should make chocalate spaghetti.

 

[Admiral_Young]

So Steph still exists but is just not acknowledged as Robin any more? That's cool. I'm guessing she will be Spoiler again? I dunno what's to work out with Cass, to me she's Black Bat and part of Batman, Inc.

 

[Professor Zoom]

No plans for Wally?

Hm. Does that mean he's around, just not in a book, or he just doesn't exist?

 

[davejames]

I'm a lot more likely to pick up a comic where Lois and Clark have stuff going on, personally and in terms of personality, than one featuring page after page of Supes Hitting Something Real Hard. That got old by the time I hit puberty...which was a long time ago, obviously.

Agreed. I'm hoping this new run focuses more on creative, witty storytelling instead of just cool art and Superman fighting hoards of aliens (which seems to be what every superhero comic is about nowadays).

Say what you will about the wacky Silver Age stuff, but at least those writers knew how to have a little bit of fun with their characters.

 

[Admiral_Young]

@Professor Zoom DiDio just said "no plans for Wally" and didn't elaborate very much even when the fan pressed the issue. He only stated that they are still concentrating on Barry Allen right now.

 

[JD]

I know alot of people are mad that we aren't hearing about certain characters, but to me it makes sense that they're pretty much just sticking with the big characters (or characters who will be big in the nuDCU). This is (supposed) to be the beginning of a new universe that (they hope) will be around for a while. So I say just give them time, I have a feeling once the big guys are dealt they'll expand things to include more of the supporting characters. I wouldn't be suprised if in a few months we see the first appearances of characters like Wally West, or Cassandra Cain, or Stephanie Brown.
EDIT:
DC's The Source Blog has been updated with artwork from today's The New 52 panel (images are from Captain Atom, Green Arrow, Justice League International, Legion of Superheroes, Stormwatch and Wonder Woman) and Batman (images from Batman, The Dark Knight, Batman & Robin, Batwing, Batwoman, Catwoman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, and Red Hood and the Outlaws). Seems like they have a pretty good range of styles there.

 

[Myasishchev]

What if Dr. Manhattan was a really big fan of Disney's Hercules?

That JLI art is pretty sweet, though.

 

[Nerys Myk]

So Steph still exists but is just not acknowledged as Robin any more? That's cool. I'm guessing she will be Spoiler again? I dunno what's to work out with Cass, to me she's Black Bat and part of Batman, Inc.

IIRC her time as Robin was pretty much blink and you'll miss it. Also, didn't DiDio say he liked her as Spoiler, earlier?

 

[Admiral_Young]

I think so. Her time as Robin was short, no question about that but I believe Bruce acknowledged her as Robin because of how she "died" at the time and Leslie Thompkins role in it. Her costume was always visible in the costume vault. It's kind of a moot point now but I thought it was an interesting comment from Marts.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

IIRC her time as Robin was pretty much blink and you'll miss it.

In continuity, it was three or four months. In publishing terms, I think it was about six months. Despite some best efforts, her Robin tenure wasn't totally forgotten; there's a one-panel flashback to it in The Road Home: Batgirl issue.

Also, didn't DiDio say he liked her as Spoiler, earlier?

Supposedly he said this at the New York Retailer Roadshow in late June. However, there's some debate on this as others at that presentation didn't hear DiDio say anything about Stephanie Brown.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Stephanie has outgrown Spoiler. Spoiler represents Stephanie's "fuck up" stage; she wasn't terrible at the super-heroic game, but she also wasn't very good at it, and everyone was trying very hard to get her to hang it up. "Graduating" to Batgirl represents the maturity Stephanie learned the hard way from her mistakes, and everyone (once Tim came around, anyway) accepts that she know what she's doing and she's good at what she does. Going back to being Spoiler is a rewinding of the emotional clock.

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Agreed. Steph has graduated to being Batgirl. I don't see why there can't be two Batgirl's.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

In a way, there are going to be two Batgirls in the DCnU's Gotham -- the first story arc in Batwoman will have Kate training Bette to be Flamebird.

Given how crowded with heroes Gotham will be, I think the only way we'll see Cass and/or Steph suited up on a regular basis would be if DC found them a place outside of Gotham.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Also I just noticed that Catwoman will again be a solo "hero" with Kitirina Falcone "giving up" being Cat Girl in a very cute written note to Dick in yesterday's "Batman".

 

[scnj]

I'm really liking Capullo's Batman art, but my favourite is easily the Catwoman art by Guillem March.

 

[Nerys Myk]

^ Agreed. Steph has graduated to being Batgirl. I don't see why there can't be two Batgirl's.

She can still be a "graduate" and be spoiler.

 

[Admiral_Young]

As Allyn pointed out in his post though that would be detrimental to her character development since then. Steph has learned from the mistakes she made as Spoiler and earned the right to wear the costume and be called Batgirl. Taking that away from her and going back to her old costumed identity seems like a step back to me. We shall see what they plan on doing with her though.

 

[Icemizer]

Since I feel at least half of the nu52 will fail in just over a year I wouldnt worry about the characters we dont see right now. They will no doubt appear soon enough. On another note Sideshow collectibles announced they now have the DC license to make figures and the first one will be the Joker. You can even enter to win one on the site. I love Sideshows work but just as I was getting out they pulled me back in.

 

[shivkala]

Though the Superman news disappointed me, it does pave the way for me to get Nightwing, instead, and still stay within my budget.

I like what Kyle Higgens is saying about Dick. That and his work with Scott Snyder on Gate of Gotham has impressed me enough to try out this book.

You know, I've been getting this question a lot lately and I have to admit I don't see it that way. Here's the reality of the situation-- Batman was NEVER Dick's identity. It was Bruce's, and it'll always BE Bruce's. Dick filled in, eventually becoming more and more comfortable in the role, but deep down he knew it was going to end-- it had to. And the question of "is it a demotion" is silly-- is it a demotion to go back to being YOU?

Now, where I WOULD say it runs the risk of being a demotion-- if I don't do my job right-- is in the villain area. As Batman, Dick went up against the best of the best-- he went up against a rogues gallery (new and old) that put him to the ultimate test. And a lot of those characters are Bruce's villains-- they're villains of Batman. So my job is to come up with new threats that will test Dick as Nightwing just as thoroughly.

That last part sold me. It shows that he put some thought into the character and realizes where it could all go wrong. But, I don't think it will.

Oh and a Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes crossover? AWESOME!