You Can Decide DC Comics Next Series?

Last week, DC Comics launched a new campaign where it put the start of a new comic series in the hands of its faithful audience. Using a Round Robin tournament style, you can vote between 16 different stories until one remains, with that story moving towards a late 2021 rollout. Call me a skeptic, but I find it hard to believe that any major company is allowing the general public to make any decisions with financial implications. I felt the exact same in January when Marvel was taking votes for the final member of the new X-Men team. Sure, they are probably tallying them correctly, but I am sure they have an idea of who they want and ways to make that happen (I voted for Armor, btw). Now, as much as I love the X-Men, the chance to vote on a new series is much more exciting, even as someone who sparingly reads DC titles.

The titles are an interesting mix of well-known characters and question marks, leading to what is likely to be an unfair advantage against what could be promising series. Nevertheless, expanding on my skepticism a bit, this is the type of situation where I can see multiple of these titles getting published. (At least the final 2 at the minimum.) But for now, I will play along with the idea of only one title seeing the promised land. As much as I wanted to pull for an underdog, I ended up finding the most appeal in the established characters and, outside of one for sociopolitical reasons, I see this tournament being dominated by the better known characters. I know that is not much a prediction since, duh, the better known characters will get more votes simply based on recognizability, but you never know.

It does appear DC Comics wants to build up some momentum regarding this contest, as they are planning on taking their sweet time dragging this out. Also, after each round, more information will be provided about each series to help voters with their selections. Per their website, the voting period for each round will occur during the following dates:

Round 1: April 1, 2021 - April 7, 2021

After Round 1, creative teams for each story will be revealed

Round 2: April 8, 2021 - April 15, 2021

After Round 2, a one-page preview will be provided

Round 3: May 5, 2021 - May 13, 2021

After Round 3, winners will receive a 10-page preview

Round 4: May 20, 2021 - May 27, 2021

For now, initial voting will have to rely on character recognition and interest, as well as the brief synopsis provided for each story.

Green Lanterns: Underworld On Fire

"A deadly outfit of space outlaws are razing the intergalactic underworld sector by sector under the command of a disruptive new kingpin, in search of an ancient payday worth becoming the target of every power player in the galaxy—including Sinestro! Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner and Kilowog are put on the case, but will Kyle be able to do this one by the book when he finds out who’s behind it all?"

While I may not be much of a Green Lantern fan, I know that the Corps. is very popular in the comics and this is likely to be an easy shoe-in. Beyond that, the story includes Rayner, who is likely in the top five most popular Lanterns, and indicates an internal struggle regarding the stakes of this mission. I am a sucker for a good mystery reveal and it is likely the only way to find out who it is would be to vote this one through the Finals. I definitely see this story making it far.

Etta Candy: Holliday Hero, Inc.

"On summer break from Holliday College, an accident grants Etta Candy her very own superpowers! Taking on the new superhero mantle of Candy Stripe, Etta joins forces with Wonder Woman, Amanda Waller, and her Beeta Lambda sorority sisters to create Holliday Hero Inc.—an all-girls agency sworn to protect and assist anyone in need. WOO WOO!"

Who? I had to do some light reading to figure this one out, which does not bode well for this title when the casual fan casts their votes. I can see the motivation behind this title, but it sounds really dumb. Sure, it might get some good press having a heavyset, female title character, but it would surely find itself in the cancellation bin a few issues in.

The Brave and the Bug: Crisis on Infinite Ambush

"Ambush Bug must team up with some of DC’s greatest heroes to survive an attack by revenge-seeking Ambush Bugs from across the MULTIVERSE who never got to exist thanks to AB’s refusal to be rebooted."

A fourth-wall breaking character, Ambush Bug sounds like an even more stupid and ridiculous Deadpool-like presence. He appears to have a backstory more convoluted than a character of his degree should have. Having to fight yourself, though, can be turned into an interesting commentary on internal turmoil. It may have a title that alludes to one of DC's biggest crossover events, but when it has to compete with the next title, this bug is inevitably getting squashed.

Zatanna and the King of Nightmares

"Something is terribly wrong with Zatanna’s powers, but before she can heal herself, she is forced to confront her worst fears in a strange new spiritual realm ruled by the terrifying otherworldly foe known as the King of Nightmares."

Zatanna is a character that feels familiar to me even though I do not know much other than the basics about her. I think of her and Raven as being somewhat similar and Raven is one of my favorite DC characters. Regardless of how much background I have on her, this sounds like a pretty appealing story: struggling with a vital part of her identity and a villain named the King of Nightmares. A bit too on the nose, maybe, but I am in on this Doctor Strange sounding endeavor.

Lobo / Animal Man: Scorched Earth

"Lobo. The name makes entire alien races collectively wet themselves with fear. The Main Man is proudly hyper-violent, arrogant, loud, stubborn, impatient, and ill-tempered. The best thing about him is that after he completes his contract, he leaves. Until now…"

The most I know about Animal Man is how well-reviewed the recent Jeff Lemire run was. Lobo, on the other hand, I have had quite a bit of exposure to and I am not much of a fan, even if he will be protecting Earth this time around. The premise of a character acting against their typical values can be an interesting character study, but there is not much to go on with this story.

Son of the Creeper

"An awkward teenager’s life is turned upside down when he inherits his dad’s chaotic powers. With his family in danger, Kieran Millar must save a father he doesn’t know from the monster he’s become."

I initially got really excited thinking that DC was producing a comic from the Jeepers Creepers universe, alas, I was quickly disappointed. Then I got excited again, as the premise for this new character is something I would absolutely read. Sure, it is nothing too original, with another teenager who can't handle their abilities, but they got their hooks in me with the "chaotic" description. Plus, it reeks of family drama, which has always been a winning formula for Young Adult material.

Justice League Queer

"Eight young queer heroes investigate a series of monstrous manifestations around the world and discover that something much more terrifying is coming."

I wonder what DC wants people to know about this title... I am not a member of the gay community, but it is hard to feel like this is the best way to be represented in comics. It comes off as more insulting to me that these characters have to be placed in their own box as the Queer version of the Justice League. If there was a Justice League Hispanic, I would be asking why my people were not good enough to join the regular JL, but that's just me. I am sure this title will gain some traction simply for representation purposes.

Robins

"In the Blüdhaven apartment of Dick Grayson, a group of young people meets for coffee, doughnuts, and kvetching (between long, awkward silences.) The only thing they have in common? All were once Kid Wonders. Sidekicks to Batman. Robins. Includes someone new claiming to be the first Robin."

Let's be real, simply having ties to Batman will help this story get votes. The DC Comics' website synopsis offers little to get excited about, unless you want to see a bunch of Robins sitting around in silence. The synopsis on the Twitter voting poll, however, comes off as very promising: "A small group meets at Dick Grayson's apartment. But what's brought them here isn't that they're all former sidekicks to Batman: They're being hunted by one claiming to be the first". HOW WAS THIS LEFT OUT ON THE WEBSITE?! This actually sounds like something I would want to read. It has familiar characters, a mystery character, and a motivation that needs exploration.

Paws Off the Justice League

"When the Justice League disappears, Jimmy Olsen and the Super Pets must save the world from certain doom by posing as the missing League."

Nah dude.

Jesse Quick: Control

"When Jesse Quick uses her speed to access an alien artifact from a long-dead civilization, she finds herself imbued with the ability to harness and control the elements around her as her former super-speed is drained. But, when the power begins to corrupt Jesse, she must decide to give up these gifts or risk becoming, quite literally, her own worst enemy."

I would like to thank the Flash TV show for aiding me in recognizing a character that, otherwise, would have had me shitting question marks. Sounds like a pretty unoriginal plot, but I would be a bit interested in seeing how a hero balances a completely new and unexpected power set.

Blue Beetle: Graduation Day

"Trapped between heroics and his future, Jaime Reyes is directionless. When the Reach interrupt Jaime’s high school graduation, things only get worse. Starfire becomes a new mentor to Blue Beetle, but is it Jaime or the Scarab that’s really in the driver’s seat? And why hasn’t Jaime applied to any colleges?"

With great power comes great responsibility. This is not a terrible sounding story, but it comes off as a filler story, or an ongoing, underlying premise to a bigger story. A lot of these new stories come off as mini events in their descriptions but this does not come with enough to spark much excitement.

Nightrunner: Love in Paris

"All of Paris is obsessed with an intoxicating virtual songstress, whose holographic stage shows are lighting up the City of Love. But when the “vocaloid” ingenue’s fans start to disappear, Nightrunner must track down the infamous developer behind the eerily realistic celebrity AI."

Well would you look at that, a poor, French Batman. The character sounds appealing enough, again, sounding somewhat similar to Batman in his intentions. I feel like this would be less about the missing fans and the plot would just be a vehicle to further explore this lesser known hero. In addition to potentially help open more doors to the European market, it sounds like this series would be a commentary on the pitfalls of celebrity obsession. Not terrible, but not terribly original either.

Swamp Thing: A House of Secrets

"When love will not die, the dead must rise from the grave to kill it. Louisiana, 1905: Caught in an eternal triangle of love and living death, the monstrous Alex Olsen; his widow, Linda; and his undead rival, Damian, vie for control of the cursed swamp where life, death, the past, and the future spiral into one never-ending nightmare."

Following the cancellation of the Swamp Thing series after one season, I could see this title getting a lot of support, though it will have its work cut out for it in the first round. Being set in 1905, this title appears to stray away from the sociopolitical commentary of the current times. Sticking to a more conventional storyline of three characters fighting over the same thing for different reasons, this story will likely get booted out of the first round.

Suicide Squad Seven

"Harley Quinn leads a team of criminals—a millionaire adventurer, a stage magician, a sugar-obsessed serial killer, a delusional former superhero, a drunk assassin, a mute metahuman, and a child who becomes a monster—to stop the centuries-old Church of Blood from trying to destroy all of humankind."

This title is just too relevant to lose in the first round. With The Suicide Squad coming out this summer and Harley Quinn still being as popular as ever, it will not matter that this is the same old shit that the Suicide Squad always does. I hope it loses and loses hard. I hate Harley Quinn. She and Deadpool are such joke characters, and not in the good way.

Asteria: The Last Amazon

"An immortal Amazonian champion returns to Man’s World to discover her and the Amazons’ sacrifice now forgotten; a new breed of hero seeking power, glory, and dominance; and the secret family she left behind offering one last chance at redemption."

My hesitation towards this title comes from the recent rise of Yara Flor, Wonder Girl, in DC's Future State series, her transition to her own title, and her "almost" CW series (was in development, but CW ultimately chose to pass). It seems Yara Flor is the Amazonian that is getting all the eggs in her basket, leaving Asteria to likely play second fiddle. Taking that very loose prediction into consideration, this becomes nothing more than a side story about a non-important character. Even choosing an already known Amazonian warrior to supply some name value would not bring this idea towards relevance.

Superman & Lois: Ignition

"Our solar system is a machine—and its purpose is to trap and kill Superman! The sun is darkening, Mars’s orbit is changing, and a mysterious citadel in Jupiter’s Great Red Eye has awoken; it is time for Kal-El to stand against the very end of his world. But he won’t be doing it alone: Lois Lane is suited up and blasting off to get the biggest story in human history…and to watch Clark’s back as he faces his greatest challenge yet. Facing ancient aliens and planet-sized machines, trickster asteroids and the gigakrakens of Neptune, Superman and Lois will fight across all nine planets to prevent Earth’s dark destiny and save our future!"

Surprise, surprise. A Superman story gets a full paragraph synopsis. My hate for Superman not withstanding, including Lois on these missions makes this the most dreadful sounding of the probable series. I hate when love interests are included in stories that their non-super-powered selves have no business being in.

Obviously, there is only one day left for Round 1 voting, which is not much time to get your votes in, but, you can still participate in the rest of the tournament. Personally, I'm pulling for Zatanna, Robins, or The Son of the Creeper, which are unfortunately all competing against each other in the left side bracket.

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Which series do you want to see in the Finals?