When it comes to comic book reboots, DC is king. Ever since 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths merged the previously-multiversal DCU into a unified whole (to the dismay of many longtime fans but the joy of others) writers and editors have used subsequent storylines such as Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown, Final Crisis and others to further reshape the company’s ever-changing superheroic continuity. But the so-called “New 52” continuity - which reverted the DC heroes to younger, edgier versions of themselves - spinning out of the most recent such event, Flashpoint, has been widely criticized by fans (and some creators) for rendering some beloved characters unrecognizable while creating ongoing confusion about which older stories still count and which don’t.
Now, Bleeding Cool is reporting on a “developing” rumor that suggests DC could be heading for another major reboot - one potentially designed to bring the comics more in line with the emerging DC Cinematic Universe.
According to the rumor, the potential reshuffle is driven by a “top down change” that will ultimately lead to a June relaunch of multiple titles with new #1 issues; while others may find themselves being dramatically overhauled or removed from the slate entirely. Notably, titles and characters said to be most effected by these changes include Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn - all of whom are set to see their pop-culture profile rise significantly with the upcoming releases of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad to movie theaters. Incidentally, the Suicide Squad comic and its corresponding characters are also said to be among those likely looking at a significant revision to their status quo. Characters more prominently connected to television such as Green Arrow and The Flash are said to be less directly impacted, with Green Lantern’s status currently unknown.
While comics adopting changes to characters and costume-design to reflect popular versions currently appearing in movies or television is nothing new, if true this relaunch could mark the first time that an entire publishing line might be deliberately revamped to fall into line with its Hollywood counterparts. Sure, Peter Parker briefly hopped back into his black suit to help promote Spider-Man 3 and Steve Rogers is returning to Captain America duty just in time for Civil War to hit the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but reshaping a whole comics universe would be change on a scale never seen before by fans - though many have predicted it as a next logical step for years now.
DC Comics and Warner Bros. have thus far had no comment.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will hit theaters on March 25th, 2016, followed by Suicide Squad on August 5th, 2016, Wonder Woman on June 23rd, 2017, Justice League on November 17th, 2017, The Flash on March 23rd, 2018, Aquaman on July 27th, 2018, Shazam on April 5th, 2019, Justice League 2 on June 14th, 2019, Cyborg on April 3rd, 2020, and Green Lantern Corps on June 19th, 2020.
Source: Bleeding Cool
BvS comic art by J-Skipper.
