Braddy Takes On the DC Reboot

Yet another post on a subject nobody but me cares about...

DC Comics, the publishers of some of the longest running superhero magazines (including the first superhero, Superman, and my love Batman), plans to reboot their entire line of stories, taking everything back to #1 in September. That means new origins, new stories, and new costumes for their entire lineup. A lot of people are complaining that this completely gets rid of nearly 70 years of stories and worldbuilding, all for the sake of MAYBE attracting some new readers.

Personally, I don't think this is a big deal. See, stories are good regardless of whether they have 50 years of consistent storytelling behind them. Besides, thanks to the reboot, we're going to get that Frankenstein series that would have been such a good idea after the Seven Soldiers series five years ago.


Sorry, but I'm a sucker for a monster with a giant gun and an affinity for Milton.

That said, I'm not thrilled with everything that's going down. For example, they're making some pretty dramatic changes to the character Barbara Gordon, also known as Oracle:


Right now, Oracle's about the only high-profile disabled character in superhero comics. She's a positive role-model in a genre that typically treats women with something... less than respect.

Barbara Gordon was the original Batgirl, though, so walk again she must! Nevermind the fact that she's a full-grown woman now. Let's put her back in the purple suit!


Admittedly, that purple costume is one of the most iconic images in the history of Batman (even if it's iconic for a generation now preparing for retirement), so that return makes some sense.

But then we get to the character Harley Quinn, the Joker's henchgirl, and...


Okay, WHAT the heck?!

Look, I know the character's original look on the right there isn't ENTIRELY tasteful, but GEEZ! The updated Harley Quinn's just all about fanservice now. She may as well just be a stripper.

Now I KNOW that, just because a woman chooses to display some of her... ahem... attributes, that doesn't automatically make her a stripper. However, I strongly doubt that this new costume (designed by Jim Lee, co-publisher of DC Comics) was really meant to empower a woman ALREADY DRESSED UP IN A SKINTIGHT JUMPSUIT.

This is the type of thing that makes me embarrassed to admit I like superhero comics.

Even the non-sexually exploitative costumes look pretty silly. Here are the Teen Titans, a group of characters I don't really care about (except in one form):


Is there ANYONE who can tell me why Superboy has a piece of paper taped to his back?

These character designs look straight out of the 1990s - which shouldn't be surprising, considering that's when Jim Lee got to be so popular with his X-Men character designs (the ones you may recognize from the old X-Men cartoon). The trouble is, though, that the 90s were a pretty crappy time for comic books, with some severely misguided attempts at "extreme" storytelling and many design decisions springing from a desire to make their characters "look cool."


Above: 90s Comics

Getting (finally) to the point: I think the reboot's probably a good idea, from a storytelling perspective. Why not give writers the opportunity to build these characters from a fresh beginning? We could get some good new stories. But, seriously, did they HAVE to saddle so many characters with utterly baffling and unflattering looks?

In the end, I have to say that the DC Reboot isn't really going to change the way I buy comics. I tend to wait until the stories come out in trade paperback, anyway, rather than buying the single issues. I won't be branching out into Teen Titans or Batgirl or Harley Quinn and Her Amazing Wonder Corset, but I don't really buy those NOW, so DC's not really out any of my money.

I may have to check out that Frankenstein series, though.