The Misdirection of Dan DiDio

As I've stated before I love the DC Comics Universe. Originally, I thought DC was boring. Superman: "I'm invincible." Wonder Woman: "I wear skin tight, revealing clothes and fight in a man's world." Flash: "I'm fast." Green Lantern: "I make stuff with my ring." I thought Marvel had these complex characters like Wolverine who has no clue who he is. Or Scott Summers and Oro Munro who have leadership issues. Or Spidey who has to find ways to make money while trying to save others.

Then I started re-reading DC about mid 2000. I started reading about Supergirl, an earth angel, but more importantly, an average woman, Linda Danvers, who is trying to deal with being an earth angel. I read Frank Miller, and realized Batman's got some serious personality issues. Then you read others interpretations of Batman. Brooding, complex, kind of a jerk, and yet, miraculously saves the day every time. Even the simpler, funnier comics at the time seemed to have an occasional serious tone or message.

Then DC hires Dan DiDio.

I'll admit I don't know much about his hire. I don't know why he was brought in, or what was wrong with DC titles at that point. I even wikipedia-ed the man:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Didio

Nothing. Even the links...just as innocuous. If at the very least I can't comment on why DiDio was hired, and later promoted, I can talk about my reaction to everything in the DCU since which I can sum up in one common pop culture acronym: WTF?!?

Again, as I stated in a previous post, they're trying to combine the multiverse of the DCU. Don't know why, don't know what they're trying to fix. But I know they've killed a buttload of characters during this time. The deaths fit one pattern, characters created who filled the gaps of previously deceased characters or extra characters which the DCU apparently is not large enough to contain.

Tangent: The beauty of comics is that you can have a bazillion characters and have them disappear for a while, come back when it's convenient, and possibly even disrupt the regular flow of what's going on. Comics, like wrestling, like soap operas, exist because we enjoy the ongoing characters put into different storylines. Not to say you can't create new characters but there's a point where you stick with 75% of the regulars and, like an ant farm, let a little focused and intense plot creep through a magnifying glass. BUT, once you kill 'em you have the problem of bringing them back. Like Superman (although his death is a great comic moment for other philosophical reasons).

So the following characters, to the best of my knowledge, are now dead (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!....obviously):
-Connor Hawke, 2nd Green Arrow (son of real Green Arrow whom he replaced after Oliver Queen got blows up).
-Bart Allen, 4th Flash (grandson of Barry Allen from the future, he sort of replaces Wally West as Kid Flash after Barry Allen disappears).
-Spoiler, a sort of female Robin...but not really...but sort of...more the Robin part, less the female...since she had a kid and all.

And the following characters may die...based upon the heavy hinting that the DCU is doing:
-Jason Todd, 2nd Robin, who was killed once before, and then was brought back, and now apparently will be killed again...I don't know why.
-Kyle Rayner, 3rd Green Lantern, who was the last Green Lantern and the one responsible for bringing back the GL Corps.
-Donna Troy, 1st Wonder Girl, who again died once before, and they brought her back.

Then there's the strange business with bringing back all the alternate Earths (and the Elseworld Earths which were perfectly content being...elsewhere). Can't redo or recreate Crisis of Infinite Earths. There's not other larger conspiracy that DiDio can come up with? They're gonna attempt this again...for the 3rd time?

The theories as to why DiDio is doing this:
1. Money: It is a great idea to create a bazillion different maxi- and mini-series which all tie into a weekly series so all the comic fans have to buy tons of comics. Maybe DC was hurting for cash...but comics fans are as fickle as they are fanatic...there's only so long before they turn on you and start buying Marvel.

2. The Silver Age: I get the feeling that Dan's trying to bring back all the silver age heroes and recreate the silver age, and be known for bringing back an age which like all ages, good and bad, should be dead. There's a reason why the silver age worked, different times, different minds, etc.

3. The Captain Havok/Captain Carrot Crossover: Oh yeah, you know you want it.

4. DD hates Peter David: If you consider the pattern of what titles were canceled and what characters were killed off or forgotten about it all boils down to erasing pretty much everything which comic book writer Peter David ever created. It's been done to him before. Why not do it again? Except this time with a different company.

Tomorrow I will give in, buy some comics, catch up on some things going on in the DCU, and realize in the end that DC is changing...forever...as long as Dan DiDio is in charge.

pb