Nouveau 52, part 1

A bit late I know, but if DC can screw around with their characters, why can't I?


This is basically what I'd do, assuming the higher ups at DC lost their damn minds and put me in charge of the new 52.

Overall, I'd keep the staff 50/50. Half veterans (Morrison, Simone, Ennis, etc.) and half new comers. Why? Because George Perez wasn't George Perez until someone gave him a chance. Also, with a few series aside, most of them would be set around the same time. No alternative Earths, no twenty different versions of Batman running around, etc. We'd start simple. Expand to crazy if you have to, but simple first.


On to the series and a few running plot threads. Right now we'll take a look at the First Wave.


Action Comics
Mostly an anthology, this series would focus on Metropolis. Lois Lane, Jimmy Olson, and sometimes Clark Kent would be the focus here.

Superman
The Man of Steel! A character that honestly everyone knows by now. Would I change anything? Not much really. The costume might be altered a bit (no collar though), but Ka-El, the Last Son of Krypton, would fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way as mild mannered reporter Clark Kent.

Kent is a star reporter for the Daily Star, while Lois is the top wordsmith for the Daily Planet. They're rivals, but on friendly terms. I figure Lois would suspect Kent of being Superman, but in the end he would tell her just about the same time as she figures it out. They team up as often as they try to scoop one another.

For Year Two, millionaire Lex Luthor destroys the Daily Star as Kent had uncovered several secrets about him. Kent bounces back though and ends up an anchor for the Planet's sister TV station, owned by Morgan Edge, who's hiding secrets of his own.

Year Three, we start hearing rumors of a 'dark side' that threatens to envelope the world. Superman finds a dazed young man roaming the streets, broken shackles around his wrists. He remembers his name...Scott Free!

Superman and the self styled Mr. Miracle team up to discover what the 5th World is. Can the combined forces of hope and freedom stop the evil that threatens the world?

I admit, maybe strip mining Jack Kirby's stories is a bit played out, but the characters are decent. I wouldn't use Darkseid as much though, mostly for year three. I'll get to the other New Gods later. There would be a few other things too. Jonathan and Martha Kent would still be alive, as I felt they gave a decent grounding to Clark. Superman would still be more powerful than a locomotive, but he'd just be able to leap tall buildings at first before flying.

The Rouges gallery would be more or less the same. Lex Luthor, of course, the Toyman, etc. I would push for more original foes, or at least some redesigns of older ones. For Superman, I figure he would fight everything from street level crime to white collar stuff. He wouldn't be a bully, but he would fight against injustice, even if the criminal is wearing a suit and tie.

Supergirl-Year Two. Kara-Zor El, the Girl of Steel. Turns out ages ago a group of Kryptonions, including Jor-El's brother Zor-El, left the planet and were declared dead. They weren't. Landing on the planet Argo, they set up their own society. When Krypton exploded, efforts were made to survive, but Kara was blasted away in a rocket when the damage was too great. She lands on Earth and from there tries to find her way.

Year Three-The debut of Power Girl! Kara, after taking a break from fighting crime and deciding what she wants to do, decides to put the red and blue away and put on the white and blue of Power Girl. She starts using Argo science as she starts up Starrware.

Superboy-Year Three. A clone, created by Project Cadmus. After seeing Darkseid, various groups are now in a panic. It is decided to create an army of Supermen. Superboy would have been the first, but he has other ideas and leaves.

4 down, 48 to go.