Jsa #54

[Earth 2 Chris]

I wonder how much interference Robinson got from Didio. Not to make him sound like "da Debil!" but Didio obviously fancies himself a writer, and his editorial edicts have been influencing the DCU since he took over. If not for Geoff Johns, Dick Grayson would have been killed in Infinite Crisis for instance.

Robinson's output in recent years is so different than his previous stint at DC I have to wonder if there was a smothering editorial hand involved.

If the JSA is indeed on Earth 2, I hope they go for broke and give us back the Earth 2 Supes, Bats, Robin and WW to boot. That'd be a book worth picking up for me.

Chris

[samurainoir]

Earth 2 would be one way to have their cake and eat it too... Particularly since many of the younger generation JSA characters introduced by Geoff Johns could be easily ported to that setting without too much disruption to their previously established status quo.

The problem that I see occurring is the cases where they have created a very rich tapestry over the past few decades with legacy characters. I really hate to see all that wonderful Jay/Wally/Bart interaction go away for example.

The sad truth is, the past year has shown that Wally is a much more interesting character than Barry because of his generational obligation... First established in his reluctance during Wolfman and Perez's Titans days and built up during a quarter century of character development through a series of really committed long-form writers from Baron, Loebs, Waid, Millar/Morrison, and Johns.

The lack of Hit and Run with Wally shows what it takes to really takes in the long term to create a stable sales base for serialized superhero monthlies.

I love Barry, but he really was a more interesting character in death than he ever was during his monthly publication. The backflips Johns was doing with his backstory to try and make him more compelling might have been even better served with a new character without Barry's baggage.

Compare to what happened with Green Lantern after Crises with constant new directions and relaunches. And compare how Ron Marz's run... Coupled by Morrison on JLA really gave him a base to build and develop ( and I'm by no means a Marz or Kyle fan).

[madmarva]

I agree that Wally was a better character than Barry and maybe he will be in the future when DC re-introduces him as a character. Allowing Wally to marry and become a dad completed his arc, but it also stole some of what made him a fun character — the pull between responsibility and irresponsibility.

I think the key to making Barry interesting is not adding tragedy to his background (which Johns did in the set up to Flash Point), but just to write interesting super-hero stories with him. Johns has fallen into a trap of attempting to make every arc some huge thing or the build-up to some huge thing. It's not necessary. Barry was basically a non-troubled character until Zoom murdered Iris and from then on the silver-age series spiraled downward.

While I lament the loss of Wally, I think Barry needed a total restart, one where he didn't come back from the dead. Honestly, I hope most of the deaths and resurrections are wiped away by the relaunch, although DC confirm at one point the Death of Superman was a part of the character's back history.

I think with the JSA on Earth-2, which DC evidently confirmed at a comic-con in Toronto on Saturday, the characters will be able to stand on their own again. Honestly, I don't want to see Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in the JSA because I would rather the focus be on the characters that were active members of the JSA and who don't have books elsewhere, such as Sandman, Dr. Fate, Spectre, Dr. Midnight, Power Girl, Huntress, Hour Man, Wildcat and some others. While I love Alan and Jay, I wouldn't mind them taking a backseat to the other characters.

If there was a confusion about the multiple Earths — and I don't think there really ever was by anyone who wanted to take a half a second to understand it — I think it was the multiple Supermen, Batmen, Robins, Green Lanterns Wonder Women and Flashes.

I wouldn't mind if the new JSA book just concentrated on the other golden-age characters, but all of this is just me.

I hope that the mob that sprang from Johns' head in the early stages of the latest series aren't the stars, particularly with Mr. Terrific having his own series (although I like the character very much.)

As for the rich tapestry of legacies, I think DC sees that as part of the problem and why they've opted to pretty much do away with it beyond the Robins. I don't really see John Stewart, Guy, and Kyle as a legacy running from Hal. They were just other guys who became members of the Corps. It may be a huge miscalculation on DC's part to lose it, but it certainly streamlines the imprint and I think that was one of the relaunch's goals.