Disappointment

I'm not sure that this is what I wanted from the DC relaunch.

I say relaunch because it's pretty clear now that this is not a complete and total reboot. A reboot I could have handled; like the Silver Age, the DCU would begin anew in a different way.

But that's not what's happening. This is no clean slate. This is nothing different from any other Crisis. A few things are going to get changed and some things will be back to the status quo. For me it was all or nothing; I don't want another half-assed reboot.

Last week I said I'd be okay with Barbara Gordon becoming Batgirl again. When I said that I meant it in a very specific way. I meant that if they turned back the clock and de-aged everybody then I'd be okay with it.

But I was wrong. Earlier today I read Jill Pantozzi's Op-Ed on Newsarama. I'm a fan of Ms. Pantozzi's articles. We seem to have similar tastes in comics, and I often find myself nodding along with the things she writes. Reading Ms. Pantozzi's most recent Op-Ed gave me perspective on Barbara Gordon that I'd never considered before.

I don't need more people like me in comics. I'm a boring middle-class white guy. There are dozens -- hundreds -- of characters like me in the DCU. Which is why I was so enthused about the idea of adding characters that could serve to make the DCU look more like the real world -- by adding people who aren't like me. More female characters, gay and lesbian characters, characters of different ethnic backgrounds and religions. I wanted to see characters like that in my comics.

And as Ms. Pantozzi put so eloquently in her article, Barbara Gordon as Oracle served as an heroic example of a group of people who seem to be sadly overlooked. I can't really speak to it myself, and can't do what she said justice. So I recommend you go read her editorial.

I doubt you'll ever see this, Ms. Pantozzi. But if you do I want you to know how much of an effect your Op-Ed had on me. It was like a punch in the gut -- a wake up call that I think a lot of people need. You said that Barbara needs to stay as Oracle so that the DCU can be a diverse place. She needs to stay there for everyone. And you're right.

This is not the "bold new direction" I was hoping for.