DC's Next Level

 Now that I have had a nice rest from buying comics, thanks to the annoying and absurd "K.O." crossover, let's take a look at what is next: DC's "Next Level".

Given that this was an excuse to have heroes fight heroes (because DC STILL can't stop itself from aping Marvel) that brought back tedious Darkseid only minutes after we were told we were finally RID of him (which is basis for the nugatory "Absolute" line of comics). I can only hope that the "Next Level" is UPWARD rather than downward.

Lobo

Well, THAT hope was short-lived.

Sigh.

Batwoman

Well, we all like Batwoman, of course; she's like parfait.  However,

But since she was 10 years old, Kate Kane has lived in the shadow of a prophecy and the machinations of a religion devoted to the end of all things. How do you fight the devil when the devil is real? And how do you win?

it sounds as if no lessons were learned from her last run.  Batwoman is a great concept but she was badly weighed down by the "Church of Crime" nonsense (and to a lesser degree by her one-note battle against her own sister).  The only elements they needed to KEEP about Batwoman were: ex-military (the "don't ask don't tell" part is much outdated now), lesbian, Bruce Wayne's cousin, and The Best Costume Design Ever.  They had a chance to jettison the rest and they seem determined to blow it.

Deathstroke

See entry for "Lobo".

As a comic book fan, it is not the Penguins or The Erasers or Dr. Dominoes who embarrass me. It's the Deathstrokes-the-Terminators and the Banes and the Promethei.

And The Rest

Sigh.

Etrigan? Firestorm? Zatanna? Why, oh why does DC continue, decade after decade, to INSIST that these are "fan favorites", let alone ones that merit ongoing series? At least we have (for now) been spared Captain Atom.

The Legion

"Mark Waid gave his blessing for [Josh] Williamson’s new take, promising a beloved team for all Legion fans."

PHEW! Finally, something truly positive.  The DCU has three main "pillar" teams: The Justice Society from the past; the Justice League from the ongoing present; and the Legion from the (far) future.  However goofy their history has been

(which is "plenty", by the way)

the DCU is a wobbly table without them.  Whatever the flaws of its various incarnations, the Legion stands as a PROMISE: the heroic adventures you have read and are reading of present-day heroes are not for naught. They MATTER and make a long-term difference.  The Legion is the living proof that heroic legacy and its ideals in the DCU is never fully extinguished.

I can't pretend I am familiar with Williamson's work, but my fingers are crossed. Ignorable dross like Deathstroke and Lobo are worth it if we are also getting the Legion back.