DC's New 52: Reviews and Discussion (Spoilers welcolme and likely)

[Mr Light]

I have to assume that any wildly popular/famous story is still in continuity. That means of the recent Superman stories... Death/Return of Superman and the Johns / New Krypton saga. Other stuff like Electric Blue Superman, meh.

I would assume that Knightfall / Knight's End still happened. That No Man's Land still happened.

I just read Omac #1. One of the classic appearance New Gods was in it?! Does this mean that Final Crisis didn't happen? Because on the one hand it was a pretty unpopular story... on the other hand DC Golden Boy Grant Morrison wrote it.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I have to assume that any wildly popular/famous story is still in continuity.

As a practical matter I'd say that's a safe assumption.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I wouldn't assume that at all actually. The Batman stuff could be theoretically all still in tact but I wouldn't assume that recent stories and events happened for Superman. Else why completely reboot him?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The point of rebooting something like Superman isn't to wipe the slate clean, but to simplify an introduction to it for new readers/viewers - and then to pretty much make free use of any previous material that appeals to the folks doing the reboot, without having to be concerned with importing every bit of baggage that they consider to have been troublesome. It's kind of like asking why bring back Lois Lane and Luthor if they're completely rebooting Superman.

They're telling Superman's early history in Action and, in part, in Justice League - but they have an ongoing Superman title which assumes that he's been around for five or six years and has presumably had quite a few adventures during that time. There's no reason at all that they shouldn't decree that some of those "past" adventures include events from the previous incarnation that they like and think that long-time fans like (and/or that received enough mainstream publicity over the years that newbies might be aware of them). Byrne completely rebooted Superman, and then almost immediately retold the Bizarro story with some changes.

Frankly, it costs them nothing to try to satisfy anxious old-timers by answering "yes" to the question of whether Supes still "died," and then simply never bring it up at all in the comic in the future if that's what they decide is best (unlikely).

 

[Professor Zoom]

I wouldn't assume that at all actually. The Batman stuff could be theoretically all still in tact but I wouldn't assume that recent stories and events happened for Superman. Else why completely reboot him?

The thing is you can either assume it's all in, and then be contradicted, or assume it's all out, and then be contradicted.

Basically, wait and see. And again, for the most part, those stories don't have much, if at all, impact on the current story. How is No Man's Land impacting now? Superman Red/Blue? The Death of Superman?

 

[Admiral_Young]

I know of all that, I was addressing Mr. Light's rather grandiose assumptions. That's kind of like trying to cram two continuities into one...oh wait...

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'd guess the "death" of Superman happened, but not necessarily "The Death of Superman".

 

[Mr Light]

I wonder if they'll eventually do "remakes" of those stories. A Death of Superman where Luthor is not a red-haired clone of himself and Supergirl is not a protoplasm blob

 

[theenglish]

Now, if Super-heroes have been around for five to six years comic time, that means about twenty to thirty years of real time comic book stories could have taken place.

 

[Mr Light]

Most comic books only take place over 1-2 days. And each comic ends on a cliffhanger that leads right into the next. So 700 issues of Superman would only equal 1,400 days, or 3.8 years.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Seventy years of Batman continuity according to GM is only 20 years in the life of Bruce Wayne.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Seventy years of Batman continuity according to GM is only 20 years in the life of Bruce Wayne.

Well, it could hardly be seventy or even forty years in the life Bruce Wayne, could it?

 

[Myasishchev]

I wonder if they'll eventually do "remakes" of those stories. A Death of Superman where Luthor is not a red-haired clone of himself and Supergirl is not a protoplasm blob

BOYCOTT!!1

Seriously, that part where Doomsday smashes her into grape jelly is pretty awesome.

 

[theenglish]

Most comic books only take place over 1-2 days. And each comic ends on a cliffhanger that leads right into the next. So 700 issues of Superman would only equal 1,400 days, or 3.8 years.

And then you count time between story lines. Normally five years of real time is considered one year of comic time. Marvel seems to reference this every once in a while, and there was supposed to have only been a little over two years between Superman's death and Infinite Crisis I think.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I wouldn't worry about it. As little or as much time passed between storylines as is needed. And if needed you can drop another infinite number of storylines between them.

 

[theenglish]

I wouldn't worry about it. As little or as much time passed between storylines as is needed. And if needed you can drop another infinite number of storylines between them.

That was the original point that I was trying to make. Five years could encompass all the events since COIE or it could encompass none of them. Or any 25 years worth of stories since 1938 for that matter.

Let's see. 1938-1940 will be in continuity, 1957-1962, etc...

I am just kidding, of course.

 

[JoeZhang]

I'd guess the "death" of Superman happened, but not necessarily "The Death of Superman".

Which is really no different to how they treated "Crisis on infinite earths" for a number of years - it happened in the post-crisis universe but unfolded in a slightly different than we saw in the actual series (there were no multiple earth, it was simply the matter and anti-matter universe etc).

Of course when Infinite Crisis happened, they changed their minds and it *did* go down as shown in 'Crisis on infinite earths'.

 

[Mr Light]

One thing I'm STILL confused about... after COIE, did the stories before COIE happen? Because I thought it was a hard reboot and nothing happened before (clearly the Superman Man of Steel was completely different than anything that came before). Yet they started referencing COIE as happening (but I guess nobody remembered it?).

 

[Vendikarr]

Most comic books only take place over 1-2 days. And each comic ends on a cliffhanger that leads right into the next. So 700 issues of Superman would only equal 1,400 days, or 3.8 years.

When Roy Thomas was writing All-Star Squadron, he was fitting one month of comics time into one year of real time. With that thought, a year in the comics could take 12 real years.

If that was the way everything was handled, Superman would just be in his sixth year. That fits their "Super heroes have only been around five year" thing.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

One thing I'm STILL confused about... after COIE, did the stories before COIE happen? Because I thought it was a hard reboot and nothing happened before (clearly the Superman Man of Steel was completely different than anything that came before). Yet they started referencing COIE as happening (but I guess nobody remembered it?).

At first, no one even remembered the Crisis except for a couple of folks like the Psycho-Pirate. After a while, DC allowed as how the characters remembered a crisis involving the Anti-Monitor and "our" Universe and the anti-matter Universe. I believe, however, that except for characters like Superman who underwent his own reboot shortly thereafter the characters were supposed to remember some versions of their earlier lives.

The narration in the preview for Batman #1 just absolutely sucks - it's overwrought and straining way too hard.