“History is written by the winners.” – Barry Allen
“Canon revision prevents DC from growing its brand.” – Diane Darcy
We’ve now reached the end of the road with New History of the DC Universe #4, but aside from amazing artwork from Hayden Sherman and Howard Porter, there aren’t many “high points” left to discuss at this point. At best, New History of the DC Universe is one of those books that can be best enjoyed as “The DC Universe by Mark Waid,” in which the writer shares what his ideal DC Universe would look like. When experienced through that lens, it’s easier to enjoy the book for what it is. But the moment you treat the book as “The Definitive Guide to the DC Universe (For Now),” that’s when you run into problems.
As expected, New History of the DC Universe #4 recaps the main events of the post-Flashpoint continuity in very broad strokes, but with no real clarity as to how these stories still happened in the revised canon. For instance, there’s mention of Dick Grayson still joining Spyral after he was doxxed in Forever Evil (the crossover with Earth-3), but there’s no mention of Helena Bertinelli’s time with the spy organization, despite being central to that story. There’s also no mention of Earth-2 Huntress and Power Girl being stuck on this Earth during Forever Evil, even though Power Girl was active in the event. This effectively means that issue #4 is still cherry-picking which post-Flashpoint stories still “matter” in the interest of DC’s Prime Earth continuity.
DC Comics
Another thing that doesn’t help make sense of the post-Flashpoint DCU is the fact that there are more continuity-altering events in this era, many of which overlap with each other. The aforementioned events include Flashpoint, Justice/Doom War, Dark Nights: Death Metal, Doomsday Clock, and Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. Unfortunately, issue #4 does not streamline these events as much as it haphazardly reinterprets their place in canon. In attempting to reorganize these back and forth revisions into a cohesive timeline that “makes sense,” issue #4 does unwittingly confirm that DC has a continuity renewal problem. Furthermore, issue #4 shows why constant canon revision gets in the way of creating stories that meaningfully connect readers.
By making continuity the story instead of using it as a storytelling device, New History of the DC Universe #4 shows how DC made its own primary universe inaccessible to readers who aren’t already DC fans. The new record here is that DC achieved this in the span of a decade, compared to the equally controversial Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot. More than anything, issue #4 shows how DC failed to capitalize on the Flashpoint reboot to truly revitalize its brand in ways that could match the success of today’s Absolute Universe. By extension, issue #4 also shows why restoring the post-Crisis status quo wasn’t the solution that was needed, especially since Crisis also erased characters and stories that led to DC’s continuity renewal problem in the first place.
DC Comics
When read as a complete miniseries, New History of the DC Universe shows that DC is still trying to put every broken piece back together into something resembling a coherent universe. But the cracks remain visible to everyone who can clearly see that two pieces don’t gel well together, and that square pegs do not fit neatly inside round holes. The other thing New History of the DC Universe confirms as a whole is that DC learned nothing from the last 40 years, and keeps repeating the mistakes of the Crisis reboot. In this case, DC is (once more) failing to learn that erasing stories and characters in and out of continuity has always been a point of contention among long-time DC fans, and has been a major turn-off for new and casual readers for decades.
Every published story, character, and universe has its audience, and each one should be treated with the same care and respect as the ones DC promotes as “essential.” It is simply not enough to say “everything is canon,” but still use projects like New History of the DC Universe to redefine and erase DC’s own publication history. This is especially a problem for characters that challenge the status quo, and stories that don’t center around the narratives of its iconic white male Justice League heroes. Likewise, continued homogenization of each of DC’s unique brands to fit only one standard – the Earth-1 Justice League standard – kneecaps their story potential and prevents them from finding their target audience. This is especially the case for the Justice Society and Milestone brands, whose concepts do not thrive on an Earth where the Justice League is the status quo.
More than DC needs to spend another 40 years chasing the magic formula to having the “perfect” Prime Earth continuity (hint: it doesn’t exist), DC needs to accept and embrace all aspects of its publication history, and meaningfully learn from its highs and lows. Once DC stops trying to fix what isn’t broken (in this case, its publication history), and invests more time and energy meaningfully developing its different IPs so that they reach their intended audience groups, the brand can truly move forward.
You must be logged in to post a comment.