DC is no stranger to reboots. If you ask some fans, the publisher is notorious for almost constantly rebooting their continuity and their characters and it’s not something they deny. For better or for worse, they’ve owned up to it over the years, even making fun of some of their more controversial reboots. Some changes, or lack thereof, have done well and stood the test of time, while others are just simply don’t hit. Generally, DC leans on reboots when trying to even things out to bring new readers into things, but that has been met with mixed success. The New 52, for example, was infamous for what was supposed to be a new reader welcoming status quo shake up as well as the failure that was DCYou.
As it stands, there are plenty of lackluster reboots in DC, but in particular there are 10 reboots that are just the worst. Everything from a plot-related reboot of sorts to publishing initiative-based ones, these are the bottom of the reboot barrel.
1) Nightwing, Ric Grayson
Starting off strong we have “Ric.” After being shot in the head by the KGBeast, Dick Grayson had amnesia for a few years and it was awful. He went by the name Ric acted a lot more like Jason Todd than the beloved hero fans had long known. It wasa bad time to be a Nightwing fan, at least in this respect.
After a long road out of editorial purgatory Dick returned. Almost secondhand embarrassed about his time as Ric (rightfully so,) he took a hiatus as Nightwing. It wasn’t until the “Joker War” event he would come back properly and fans are grateful to have the character back tothe way he was.
2) Green Arrow, New 52
Perpetuating the “Green Batman” stereotype, Green Arrow was at his worst in this era. It also coincided with The CW’s live-action Arrow television series and it shows. Now portrayed a young billionaire doing this for fun, Oliver lost all his charm as a character. Thankfully, this only lasted for the first couple of years. As time went on we got Jeff Lemire’s underrated run on Green Arrow which brought some of his charm back. It was the best of a terrible situation and Lemire has expressed interest in return to the Emerald Archer now that a more classic Green Arrow is back.
3) Superman, New 52
Another New 52 entry, we have Superman. A younger more inexperienced Superman may sound good for a new movie coming out soon, but for the main continuity in comics? Less so. On top of being young and inexperienced, this was also cocky and just didn’t feel like Superman. The attempt to appeal to kids and new readers simply backfired.
As disliked as this Superman was, his fate does end rather sadly. After losing most of his powers and gaining some new ones, this Superman died in the New 52 and stayed dead. Bringing in Superman, Lois, and their son during Convergence, Superman was back. This version has remained dead and a distant memory.
4) Red Robin, New 52
Yet another New 52 entry we have Red Robin. While most of Batman’s extended cast got to keep their history in the New 52, Tim did not fare so well. Instead of being Bruce’s most intelligent Robin he was retconned to always being Red Robin and a super hacker spy. And it just felt off.
He looked off too, with a costume redesign that just didn’t work, particularly the mask. He looked more like a kid which he was, rather than a spy. It was all just very off.
5) Cassandra Cain, Black Bat
Before the New 52, Cassandra Cain gave up being Batgirl after being brainwashed into killing a few people. In that time, Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, became the new Batgirl instead. Cass was left without a title and was forced to become Black Bat. A terrible name for a great character, and changing her iconic mask to a askew domino mask was another awful choice.
This may have been largely just a name change but it was still the worst thing they ever did to her. She also would use the name Orphan but has since returned to Batgirl.
6) Jon Kent, Aged Up
When we first got Jon Kent he was such a fun character. Being the same age as Damian Wayne’s Robin, and acting in the same general capacity for his own father was incredible. Leading into their joint series Super Sons, it was great to be a fan of these two. Then Bendis showed up and took Jon away to age him up in a pocket dimension. It’s move that still has many mad to this day.
With his dynamic now more related to Nightwing, this may be the worst move DC has done in a while. We could have seen Jon and Damian grow up in real time as the best of friends but now Damian is mostly on his own in the age bracket. Thankfully, Jon is still a solid character, but aging him up with an awful choice.
7) Lobo, DCYou
The new Lobo is probably among the least favorite reboots. After making a quick appearance claiming to be the original with the classic being either a clone or imposter, a battle promised to settle things between the two. Fortunately, after 13 solo issues and a lot of cameos he has largely disappeared. Collected by Brainiac in a bottle, he was nearly freed by Guy Gardner but Hal Jordan stopped him. We’ve all, mercifully, moved on.
8) Hal Jordan, Emerald Twilight
Speaking of Hal we have the infamous Parallax change. Some fans do enjoy this one and the exploration of the downfall of a hero. Others still hate that this even happened. Following his heel turn and becoming the villain of a crisis event, Hal was long gone as a hero. After the Final Night story, Hal would die and and come back in the form of the Spectre and have redemption.
A million retcons later, Hal was cleared of all his ill deeds. He was exempt of this all happening to him and was a hero once again, restoring the character to as close as the original as possible.
9) Guy Gardner, Warrior
Where do I ever begin with Guy Gardner and his many mishaps? Guy had lost his ring which in turn left him without an identity. Finding a similar ring to that of Sinestro, Guy had a ring again but was in need of a new costume. Because this was before DC based the rings on the Emotional Spectrum, the ring was merely a power ring and thus Warrior was born.
Fans were stuck with this take on Guy for more than a decade. Thankfully Guy was changed back to a Lantern once Geoff Johns took over the Lantern mythos and things were good for all Lanterns everywhere.
10) Suicide Squad, New Suicide Squad
This one is so bad it never happened officially. This was a new lineup of the Suicide Squad was teasing during the DCYou era and had horrific backlash. With everyone confused as to how these characters got to Belle Reve, it was hated instantly. Everyone hated the power scale of this team as it wasn’t assassin types like Deadshot and we still have questions about how Talon ended up in there.
What retcon did you hate at DC? Let us know down in the comments.
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