Editors Note: All editorials are solely the opinion of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of DC Comics News or its staff.
It’s no secret that I’m not all that thrilled with how the current management at DC is running things. After all, I’m a fanboy. We’re complainers by nature. But, honestly, there are quite a few characters in the DCU who are currently underrepresented. Characters who deserve their own books.
I still don’t understand why that one part of his forehead is exposed.
1. Booster Gold
I love Booster. Or, at least, I loved Booster before the reboot. He’d easily earned his spot as my third favorite character in the entire DCU (following Superman and Batman). His book in the Old 52 was consistently one of the best titles on the shelves every month. And then he got lame.
Well I for one don’t want to live in a world where Booster Gold sucks. It’s time he got a new book. A new book where he could continue his hijinks with his best friend, Ted Kord, and his trusty sidekick, Skeets. Who doesn’t want to see an exciting, laugh-filled romp through time, space, and the entire multiverse every month? It’d be like Doctor Who with superheroes! It practically sells itself!
He’ll need to work on his heroic poses, of course…
2. Cyborg
This is unpopular every time I say it… and yet, I just keep saying it: putting Cyborg on the Justice League was a PR move to make the DCU seem less white-washed for the New 52. That’s not to say that Cyborg wasn’t a great character before the reboot or can’t be great now. I’m just pointing out the fact that he’s the only member of the Justice League without his own solo book and literally no one cares because Justice League makes him look ridiculously boring.
“What’s Cyborg up to?”
“Staring at some dots on the computer.”
“Neat-o!”
You know who says “neat-o?” No one. No one says “neat-o.”
DC needs to prove that Cyborg belongs on the Justice League. They need to prove that he’s a character worth caring about. If he manages to hold up a book for a handful of issues before it gets cancelled, fine. But they at least need to make it look like they tried.
Singlehandedly took on the Justice League. Doesn’t get his own book. DC Logic.
3. Martian Manhunter
J’onn’s always been kind of awesome. His Ostrander-penned series in the 90’s was actually pretty damn fantastic. I’d go so far as to say that issues #24 and #1,000,000 were some of the greatest one-shots DC has ever produced. And, let’s face it; New 52 MMH is kind of a bad ass. Flashbacks have shown him taking on literally the entire Justice League singlehandedly.
I mean, this is a guy who’s as strong as Superman, can shape-shift, become both invisible and intangible, is a telepathic juggernaut, and moonlights as a police detective from time to time. He’s literally one of the coolest characters in the DCU. But he doesn’t have his own book. Sure, the Justice League of America book has served up plenty of that stuff you’ve been J’onzz-ing for (Boom. Nerd pun.) but why not just give him his own title?
Look! He even has a logo that looks it was stolen from an 80s movie!
4. Shazam
For the most part, I haven’t really cared about Justice League. It’s been a bit… shallow. The first arc was basically a Michael Bay movie in comic book form: lots of flash but no substance to speak of. But those Shazam backups? Those were worth buying the book for.
As much as it pains me to not call Captain Marvel by his true title (I still don’t understand how he introduces himself to people), I’m willing to pay that high a price for a Shazam book.
Billy Batson is just a great character and, while it may not be a perfect update, the New 52 has proven that the character can be modernized. A book about a kid who literally gets to be a superhero is rife with possibilities. And, c’mon, we all think Black Adam is cool.
Superman has kneepads and this is still the ugliest costume in the New 52.
5. Red Robin
I could make so many jokes about Scott Lobdell. About how his mind is always moving because he’s got so many thought boxes. Or how his Superboy book takes place in a world full of high-functioning Alzheimer’s patients who need to be constantly reminded that the title character is a living weapon. But, instead, let me just say that Teen Titans is an awful book and that the character who has suffered from the reboot more than any other character in the DCU is Tim “Red Robin” Drake.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too fond of Tim before the reboot. Sure, I loved Young Justice (the awesome comic series from the 90s which had Tim in a starring role). And the first arc of the Red Robin series was awesome. But his whole “I’m almost as smart as Batman but I’m too smart to ever want to be Batman” shtick was never my cup of tea. If we’re ranking Robins, I’m a Jason Todd fan.
And yet I feel bad for Tim fans everywhere now. Lobdell has made him so utterly terrible, it’s astounding he even has fans left at all. That’s gotta change. Red Robin needs a solo title again. Badly.
Honorable Mentions:
– The Metal Men – Robots with too much personality. What’s not to love?
– The Doom Patrol – Instead of Justice League Dark, it’d be like Justice League Oh God Their Lives Are So Depressing.
– A second Wonder Woman book – Superman has four, Batman has about 12, and Wonder Woman gets one? Sure it’s one of the best titles out right now, but c’mon.
– Spoiler – We need more Stephanie Brown. We need no other reasons.
– Deadman – He’s cool. He’s compelling. Our review editor, Max Dweck, will need a new pair of pants. Get on it, DC.
– The Atom – Ray Palmer or Ryan Choi, doesn’t matter to me. I need a book about a little dude fighting bugs. And spiders. Spiders are clearly evil.
– The Crime Syndicate – This one really depends on how Forever Evil goes, but I feel confident in saying that evil superheroes are always a good thing.
– Lex Luthor – Again, this one depends on Forever Evil, but Paul Cornell’s Lex run on Action was fantastic and I want more of it.
– The New Gods – Occasionally having Orion pop up in Wonder Woman isn’t enough. Oh, and Darkseid talks, Geoff. He’s got a lot to say. All the damn time. Geoff.
