Five Years Later

I honestly have no idea how DC expects their new timeline to work without a total reboot of the universe. The idea that super-heroes only appeared five years ago is certainly workable for most characters. There's no difficulty, for instance, in saying that the Flash, Superman, or Wonder Woman only appeared five years ago. It's pretty easy to streamline out most of their histories.

The problem, as usual, is Batman. Batman wouldn't be a problem if DC was really rebooting their universe. But according to DC all the Batman characters are still canonical: Dick Grayson was the first Robin, Jason Todd the second, and so on.

How exactly is that going to work? How are they going to fit all of that into five years? And the problem of Damien just raises further questions.

I don't know if they'll try to come up with a convoluted, not terribly convincing explanation or just go the Infinite Crisis route and hand wave it away with a "Superboy-Prime punched a wall!" Either way, I look forward to seeing the frothing Internet masses explode in rage and indignation.

Volume 2, Number 1

I have no idea what DC is doing with Superman. They say they're going to make him "edgy" and "brooding." I guess that sort of thing has its place. And maybe there are some people who will enjoy that kind of Superman. After all, there is no single Superman. Since 1938 there have been dozens of different iterations of the character, and I suppose any one is as valid as any other.

But the Superman they're talking about for the new Action Comics isn't the kind of Superman I think I want to read about. That leads to the question: is it the sort of Superman that other people want to read about? Because everything DC has said indicates that they're trying to bring in new people with this relaunch. Is a solitary, brooding Superman what the general public wants?

Maybe it is. After all, Batman is arguably DC's most popular character. And people seem to think that he's a solitary, brooding character. Even though he's not really solitary. I mean, the man has a butler, four sons, police allies, a love interest who dresses as a cat, and is best friends with Superman.

Well, he used to be, anyway. Maybe isolating Superman and putting a spotlight on his alien origins will make him be a more popular character. Because putting him in a t-shirt isn't going to do it...

Sinestro

It's safe to say that I did not expect the "War of the Green Lanterns" story to end the way that it did. We often talk about "shaking up the status quo" when it comes to comics. I think it's safe to say that Geoff Johns has done just that.

Sinestro is an interesting character. When he started out he wasn't really anybody. He was just a Green Lantern villain with a yellow ring, a ridiculous mustache, and an absurd set of clothes.

But over time he really has matured into a nuanced character. I'd even say that Sinestro is a more interesting and more complex character than Hal Jordan. And that's what makes giving Sinestro the starring role in the relaunched Green Lantern.

Sinestro vs. the Sinestro Corps. How is it that we're only getting this now?

Coloring

All right. I'm back. I finished my MA exam and presumably now a Master of the Universe. I won't know for sure until I get the results back.

Now, while I was supposed to be thinking about the foundations of the Tokugawa Shogunate I was instead thinking about very silly things. Like Jason Todd's hair.

Here's the thing: it seems to change color every few years. Here's the timeline as far as I can tell:

Pre-Crisis: Jason's hair is blond; he dies it black to be Robin.

Post-Crisis: Jason's hair is actually black.

Hush: Jason's hair is black with a white streak.

Under the Hood: Jason's hair is just black again.

Batman and Robin: Jason's hair is red with a white streak.

Currently: Jason's hair is just red.

Now, I understand that editors have more important things to worry about that what color hair Jason Todd has. I mean, there's that whole relaunch and everything. I get it. But maybe, just maybe we could pick one and stick with it when we hit the New 52 era? Please?