The New 52: The Best and Worst of the Relaunch

It's now Month 3 of the DC New 52 relaunch and it's pretty clear at this point which are the best and worst titles and will remain as such until the creators of various characters decide to take over. So far, every member of the Justice League is being treated very well, with the exception of Detective Comics, which is being written dark just for the sake of being dark. Tony Daniel had 2 great runs on Batman, but it seems that he has no idea how to write Bruce Wayne anymore, feeling compelled with his new creative freedom to write garbage. Despite that, Batman still has 3 other great titles, Batman, Batman and Robin, and Batman: The Dark Knight.


Superman is being treated very well, especially in the pages of Action Comics where Grant Morrison is giving Superman a brand-new origin story along the line of the Golden Age, but with modern twists and keeping with his portrayal of Clark Kent and Superman looking like 2 different people. Morrison is clearly no fan of Clark Kent being a wallflower or even someone who intentionally tries to be quiet; he has written Clark Kent to be an activist, wanting to expose the corruption in Metropolis and become a successful journalist while edging out the competition from his rival from a different newspaper, Lois Lane. The relationship between Clark and Lois has changed for the better. I've never understood why in the hell Clark was ever attracted in Lois, so maybe now he can find someone who isn't loud for the sake of being loud, unless Lois Lane decides to quit acting like a 5 year old. Action Comics is also easier to write for Morrison because of the new origin story, being able to write a very under-powered Superman.


On the other hand, Adam Glass is ruining everything about Task Force X, the Suicide Squad. Glass claims to have grown up as a fan of the Suicide Squad, but it's pretty obvious he was only interested in stories about villains rather than the purpose of the book Suicide Squad. The purpose of the Suicide Squad (and it's spin-off, Secret Six) was to show the bad guys acting like actual people with personalities and emotions that drove them to lives of crime. The fans' favorite part of the recent Suicide Squad was seeing Deathstroke drink coffee and playing Scrabble with people on the task force, but apparently Glass hates that. Now, the Suicide Squad is all about KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE THATS WHAT BAD GUYS DOOOO!!!!!! FUN!? BAD GUYS ARENT ALLOWED TO HAVE FUN, THEY KILL PEOPLE AND TRY TO KILL EACH OTHER!!!!!!!!111!!! Worst of all however, is how Glass has destroyed Harley Quinn's character and background. In Batman: Arkham City, Harley Quinn gets yet another new outfit, but her personality remains the same as its ever been. Suicide Squad turns Harley into... an idiot. Sure, Harey was a ditz beforehand and only became a psychologist by sleeping her way to a degree, but she wasn't an idiot. Even worse, Harley isn't some psycho who dresses up crazy anymore, now she has a "skin condition". Are we supposed to believe she ended up getting the exact same accident the Joker went through?


These two comics pretty much accurately describe the New 52. There is no middle ground in this New 52, there is only excellent or atrocious. At first glance, Red Hood and the Outlaws was looking to be the worst comic of the relaunch, but with one more comic on the slate, it's really obvious that Suicide Squad is worse (but only sightly).


Another surprise standout of the New 52 is Aquaman, which is receiving a pleasurable treatment from Geoff Johns painting Aquaman as more Arthur Curry than Orin, following the events of Brightest Day. In the pages of Aquaman, the king of Atlantis decides to renounce his throne and live on the surface in an apartment with his wife, Mera. Mera seems like a mindless slave in the first issue, but the 2nd issue shows that Mera is really just fascinated by the surface world and everything that Aquaman (or is it Arthur now?) experienced as a child when his father (real father or step-father now?) took him around the world so that he would see everything the world would have to offer. If it weren't for Grant Morrison's undying love for Superman, I'd say Geoff Johns' treatment of Aquaman is the best of the New 52.


Justice League on first glance seems like it would also be great, but it's one of the few just plain average books. Jim Lee is a fantastic artist, but his art can't save Geoff Johns' incredibly slow story-telling in a story that will initially tell the new story of how the Justice League formed. Issues 1 and 2 have been filled with a lot of "So what can you do Batman?" to the point of groaning. Batman is apparently back to being an urban legend before Batman, Incorporated, so it results in Hal Jordan incredulous that Batman exists. I thought Johns was a huge GL fan? Why couldn't Hal just ask the Guardians if Batman was real and if he had any super powers? The writing is uncharacteristically inconsistent, but the art is always great with no hiccups. Maybe issue #3 will turn the tide around, because so far DC's new flagship title is just boring.