Craft your own DCU: The Big Reset Button

[mofo]

G'day people!

Premise:
So there you are, watching some TV when all of a sudden.... the doorbell rings!
You shuffle over to the door, while scratching your belly, and open it.
Lo and behold! It's Dan Didio! He says:
"Here are the keys to the DCU. Do whatever you want with it"

Objective:
You're going to push the big red reset button on the DCU! So list a few amendments/additions/removals that you would make to the DCU so that it's tailored to your liking! Try and limit yourself to 3 items so as to make life easier for other members!

I'll start off:

1) Superman will be the ONLY living Kryptonian. No Kara Zor-El. No Zod. No Power Girl. No Krypto*

2) More cultural diversity in superheroes and more diversity in story settings

3) Cut down the WHOLE DCU to one comic that comes out on a weekly basis. Rotating artist/writer teams mean that this would be possible and on schedule. Writers and artists will be able to do WHATEVER they want once they're doing the duties, as long as it doesn't conflict with previous stories and doesn't leave future writers in the shithole**

Thats it for me!


* Well maybe just Krypto.... and Streaky :tongue:
** I know it's some extreme ideas but my sorority sisters and I think it's fantastic! And lighter on our wallets :smile:

[True Herald]

I only need one:

Cut everything out of continuity that was published after May 2003. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Discontinuity)

Young Justice is still around and not turned into Geoff's Wangsty (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Wangst) Teen Titans.
Superboy is not retconned into the whiny "scientific love child of Superman and Lex Luthor".
Wonder Girl is a competent, confident leader.
Ted Kord is still alive.
Max Lord, Cass Cain, Mary Marvel, and other characters haven't been ridiculously derailed by piss-poor writers.
Sue Dibny: NOT retcon-raped.

Done and done. :cool:

[CYOTI]

Clearly the OP hasn't heard of CoiE or the fact that it was written more than two decades ago.

[ryerye17]

I LIKE THIS. I was toying around with a RESET thing-y (sort of like Silver Age Flash and GL being TOTALLY different from Golden Age).

Here's mine:

1) RETAIN THE CONCEPT OF THE BIG SEVEN AND THE DC TRINITY.

but let's tweak it a bit.

Superman - I want to play with the concept of the Man of Tomorrow more. Perhaps more advancements? AND NOT BE SUCH A STUCK-UP SMALLVILLE PRICK.

Batman - turn into Batwoman. I'm sorry that's the only way I want it.

Wonder Woman - change the costume. Angry supermodel much?

GL - I kind of like the Kyle version but I'll change it to a more militaristic appeal

Flash - I like Professor Zoom's "slow time" power

Aquaman - change into Aquawoman, who has WATER SORCERY plus PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT. Hell. That's Mera already

Manhunter - Manhunter's awesome.

2) Make Zatanna an entity. Okay, we don't want her as a superhero randomly teleporting yelling POTS at the top of her lungs. So, let's turn her into an entity that randomly teleports and yells POTS at the top of her lungs

3) I want events to showcase OTHER people. I mean, Supes and Bats are fine, but shouldn't people like Booster Gold and Fire play roles in big events too?

[mofo]

Clearly the OP hasn't heard of CoiE or the fact that it was written more than two decades ago.

No need to be rude sir. CoIE was not a full yank-everything-out-of-the-wall reset. They didn't start everything from the very beginning again.
And that's what I'm asking you: what would you do if you had to start from scratch?

[mofo]

2) Make Zatanna an entity. Okay, we don't want her as a superhero randomly teleporting yelling POTS at the top of her lungs. So, let's turn her into an entity that randomly teleports and yells POTS at the top of her lungs

Hahaha, I'd like to see this happen

[Forth World]

1) RETAIN THE CONCEPT OF THE BIG SEVEN AND THE DC TRINITY.

This. There ought to be a strict guideline that if each of the Big Seven doesn't have a decent-selling solo title at any given time, UR DOING IT WROGN! The same for at least one of the following: Hawkman, Plastic Man, Captain Marvel.

In keeping with that vein, I think DC should focus on what DC does best. Accordingly, the following characters - who are more X-Men clones than DC characters, should be killed off and expelled from continuity forever:

Geo-Force, Black Lightning, Halo, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, Gypsy, Vixen, Jericho, and probably a lot more that I'm forgetting.

I suggest having Babs Gordon get out of her chair and maim, rape, kill and stuff in refrigerators all of the above-named male characters.

[bongoes]

This. There ought to be a strict guideline that if each of the Big Seven doesn't have a decent-selling solo title at any given time, UR DOING IT WROGN! The same for at least one of the following: Hawkman, Plastic Man, Captain Marvel.

I agree (I'd add Green Arrow to that list even though he already has a title).

[The Chief5425]

1) There will be no Legion of Superheroes other than the Pre-Zero Hour Legion, and as much as I loved "Legion of Three Worlds" we're scrapping it and going back to the Five Year Later Legion. That's the only adult Legion I want (we are, however, keeping Geoff John's at least partial restoration of Kal-El Superboy to continuity).

2) Justice League is the Big Seven. Yes, other B and C listers will occasionally rotate in or out but the Big Seven are always the core members.

3) "Final Crisis" didn't happen. Darkseid still exists, still the Big Bad of the DC Universe and at some point, somebody who hasn't done too many hallucinogenics might be allowed to write the ultimate, be-all-end-all Darkseid vs. The Whole Universe story. But it definitely won't be the story we got last year.

[AdamYJ]

This may sound like a strange thing for a Modern Age reader to say, but if I'm going to hit the reset button, I'd probably just set everything back at a sort of Silver/Bronze age point. Just sort of streamline and simplify the whole line. Take it back to its roots but set it in the modern world. Of course, other more modern factors would come in as needed (like, say, Wonder Woman living in Gateway City or Maxwell Lord funding the Justice League).

I'd also make sure each of the "big ten" had a distinct personality. Most of it would be pretty familiar until you get to a couple of them. Superman would be the boy-scout. Batman would be the dark, brooding one. Wonder Woman would be the warrior. Martian Manhunter would be the philosopher. Aquaman would be the bombastic adventurer (see the Brave and the Bold cartoon). Flash would be the everyman. Green Lantern would be the hotshot. Green Arrow would be the loud-mouthed rabble-rouser. Hawkman would be the hard-nosed cop. And the Atom would probably be the funny guy (see his personality in the old The Atom and Hawkman series).

It's kind of like Marvel's Ultimate Comics except without all the "hey, look how shocking and edgy we are" stuff. I'm afraid this approach wouldn't be favorable for everyone. For example, Titans fans would be miffed. The thing is that I think Dick Grayson is more fun as a kid than as an adult, so we'd probably have to put the Teen Titans back at square one. Maybe we could mix in some younger versions of characters like Cyborg and Starfire. I don't know.

[BallsMonkey]

The only things I would do differently would be....

1. Go back to more simplified storylines. I would like to see smaller, more self contained stories. Sorta like the Silver Age, not in terms of content, but just make them more accessible to new readers. Also, cut back on the big events. One it's one right after the other they start to lose impact. We should at least get a couple years break between events.

2. Re-establish the Big 7 as the one true Justice League. When has it ever felt right without them? Superman, Batman(Bruce), Flash(Barry), Green Lantern(Hal), Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter. There can be reserve members and splinter teams, but the Big 7 would be the stable, definitive Justice League. Also I'd work on building J'onn as a solo hero as well.

3. Fix the Teen Titans books. I'd stat by canceling Titans. These characters are never gonna grow if they're constantly tethered to this one team. Let them spread their wings. As for Teen Titans, I'd put Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Kid Flash back together. Seriously, Teen Titans has sucked without them. I'd rebuild the team as Wonder Girl(as leader), Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash, Speedy, Blue Beetle, Static, Red Devil, and Miss Martian.

[Bullcityjl]

1) .3) "Final Crisis" didn't happen. Darkseid still exists, still the Big Bad of the DC Universe and at some point, somebody who hasn't done too many hallucinogenics might be allowed to write the ultimate, be-all-end-all Darkseid vs. The Whole Universe story. But it definitely won't be the story we got last year.

I think that's the perfect way to sum up all the problems with Final Crisis.

[The Scarlet Sapien]

Hmmm. Well, Barry's still dead. Died valiantly stopping that Anti- Monitor Bastard. Loved, remembered, revered, immortalized, dead. Wally is probably still Flash, I never really saw the problem. You know, I would probably keep Jason Todd, alive. I'd say it was the Lazerus pit that brought him back. Punching History? How incompetant was That?) I would keep him a villain. I think he made a great Red Hood. Hal Jordan would still have gone Psycho over coast city. Connor? Dead. Heroes die. its a dangerous business. Clark and Lois? not so fast. I would have a long story line establishing a romance between Clark and Diana. Maybe current. Maybe a back story. I like the idea of Bruce and Lois having had a fling as it appeared in The Tas Superman- Batman Team up. Give Ryan Choi his book back and/or stick him in Jla or Jsa. Fewer deaths... more that stick.

[JumpingJupiter]

I hire a top notch branding agency to do the job.

[Fred2]

First fire everyone at D.C. comics.

Then kill off all the heroes and villains except for:

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Wally West Flash, Lex Luthor, and add any characters that you truly like...

Have them all fall in a Lazarus pit, so that they are immortal and never age.

This way you do not need to keep doing revamps every 10 years.

[The Scarlet Sapien]

If I found that somehow I couldn't get Supergirl right. I would write her out for awhile and have someone try to figure out something good for her. I wouldn't just keep trotting out new Supergirls every few years. If a satisfactory niche in Dcu could not be carved out for Supergirl. I'd bring her back give her a nice spot in some Blockbuster cross over event( which there are far fewer of) and have her die heroically.

[The Scarlet Sapien]

Oh, and no cities or planets whose populations are just as strong as Superman. Geeez.

[maniacthw]

Bruce Wayne would retire, and Tim Drake will take over, with a newly designed costume. Dick and Jason will play Nightwing and Robin, who will then take over as the "main" heroes of DC. And Superman will be the only "super" anything. No more supergirl, woman, dog, cat, goldfish, boy, car, tree.

[The Scarlet Sapien]

Bruce Wayne would retire, and Tim Drake will take over, with a newly designed costume. Dick and Jason will play Nightwing and Robin, who will then take over as the "main" heroes of DC. And Superman will be the only "super" anything. No more supergirl, woman, dog, cat, goldfish, boy, car, tree.
Awwww Dude. No Super Tree? Harsh!

[The Scarlet Sapien]

Awwww Dude. No Super Tree? Harsh!

How about Aqua Tree Bat Tree or Tree lantern?

[Anxy]

I'd create my own multiverse based on the different styles of DC comics through the years. One multiple earth would be the crazy swingin' 50s and 60s, another earth would be the dark but still kinda naive style of the 70s, another would be in the style of early-early-early Action/Detective/All-Star comics, and so on. Technology and history would advance on these planets, but the asthetic, mannerisms, morals, etc., of each planet would be stuck in their respective eras. Another earth beyond "our" present-day mainstream earth would be a more hyper-real, almost post-modern earth, where heroes do things like marry, have kids, retire, get old, die, and don't come back from the dead.

This idea would become a huge failure of a mess, but for a while it would be my very own toybox of a failure of a mess, ha.

[DeTroyes]

Reading this thread makes me awfully glad that 99.999999999999999% of comics fandom will never, under any circumstances, be allowed anything approaching full creative control over anything in comics.

[Artificial idiot]

I'd bring back the New Gods... And stop creators from using characters as cannon fodder.

Everything else... Well, as long as it looks like there's a good story in it, I'm good! In fact, probably far too laid back to be in charge of a comic company lol.

[hondobrode]

I'd create my own multiverse based on the different styles of DC comics through the years. One multiple earth would be the crazy swingin' 50s and 60s, another earth would be the dark but still kinda naive style of the 70s, another would be in the style of early-early-early Action/Detective/All-Star comics, and so on. Technology and history would advance on these planets, but the asthetic, mannerisms, morals, etc., of each planet would be stuck in their respective eras. Another earth beyond "our" present-day mainstream earth would be a more hyper-real, almost post-modern earth, where heroes do things like marry, have kids, retire, get old, die, and don't come back from the dead.

This idea would become a huge failure of a mess, but for a while it would be my very own toybox of a failure of a mess, ha.

Best idea I've read on the thread.

I'd create another huge event and destroy the entire DCU. For real. It would be entropy - the nature state of decay in the universe, and it would be unstoppable. Nothing no way no how could stop it. Heroes, villiains, groups, gizmos, gadgets, girlies, ghouls, zombies, ghosts, mutants, mad scientists, mystics, freaks, geeks, sheiks, gnomes, drones, nothing.

The whole universe, the original DCU, would collapse in and of itself and the sequel to the Big Bang, would occur.

Simple

You would see the birth of the entire DC Megaverse, from a single title, the flagship title, and the line would grow as characters spun out into their own titles.

Nothing that existed previous to this is an issue. There will be no bleedover from the original DCU. The DC Megaverse will blossom and grow, and elements from the past DCU will certainly exist again. Some will be exactly the same, some will never be seen again, and many things will be different.

The original DCU would never ever under any conditions ever be referenced again.

Everything starts with DC Megaverse # 1 and branches off from there.

The Megaverse will have different dimensions, earths, levels, etc, each similar yet different.

How is that so hard ?!

Why can't they do this ? Rebuild the icons from the ground up and literally have a Continuity Cop, the E-i-C. Everything is approved or denied by them and continuity, from this point on, is strict, BUT, that wouldn't be that hard.

Someone like a Warren Ellis has a great and crazy idea we don't use for Earth-1 (or whatever) then fine, it goes someplace else in the DC Megaverse.

No problem.

God that would be so exciting. I think I would buy everything.

Imprint every DC Comic on the cover just below the DC Bullet or swirl or whatever you call it with Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-3, whatever for easy reference to what titles directly connect to each other i.e. The Crime Syndicate would be under the Earth-3 imprint as would Owl-Man or maybe The Secret Society of Super-Heroes.

Explore all 52 Earths, but not all at once. Earth-17 might be referenced somewhere somehow but wouldn't necessarily need it's own title or imprint but those characters could cameo for a certain crossover storyline under an already existing imprint.

Get the best talent you can and go nuts.

[Damiean Dark]

Give Superman a set power level and origin and STICK WITH IT ditch the superman back family of boy/girl/dog and reset Clark to when no one except a very select few knew he was superman.

Make the DCU more resemble the DCAU where it seems a more coherent world to the comics which still seems like a random bunch of charcters from defunct publishers rammed together.

Make more effort to push lesser characters to the fore create ones that will become as famous as the likes of Rogue,Gambit ect over at marvel.

[Freakzeek]

Reading this thread makes me awfully glad that 99.999999999999999% of comics fandom will never, under any circumstances, be allowed anything approaching full creative control over anything in comics. Geoff Johns pretty much has complete creative control of the GL universe right now, & he's the biggest fanboy of all time, you gotta remember one of this posters could be editor & chief one day

[DeTroyes]

Geoff Johns pretty much has complete creative control of the GL universe right now, & he's the biggest fanboy of all time, you gotta remember one of this posters could be editor & chief one day

Perhaps. But perhaps it also means that only 0.000000000000001% of comics fandom is competent enough to actually handle the job.

Sorry, but everytime I read one of these kind of threads, I always find it filled with ideas and scenarios that I would never, under any circumstances, care to see happen. Too many people with axes to grind, using the reset as an excuse to get rid of characters they hate or titles they don't like or plot twists they weren't fond of. While I understand that that is the point of the question, I just find that in nearly every case their "perfect" end result is something I just don't want to read, and if they were to actually happen I would almost certainly be saying goodbye to DC. Hence, my original comment.

[The Chief5425]

Sorry, but everytime I read one of these kind of threads, I always find it filled with ideas and scenarios that I would never, under any circumstances, care to see happen. Too many people with axes to grind, using the reset as an excuse to get rid of characters they hate or titles they don't like or plot twists they weren't fond of. While I understand that that is the point of the question, I just find that in nearly every case their "perfect" end result is something I just don't want to read, and if they were to actually happen I would almost certainly be saying goodbye to DC. Hence, my original comment.

So...you clicked on a thread about fan opinions and then post that you don't like reading fan opinions.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff207/cruiselover1989/Spock/Fascinating.jpg

[DeTroyes]

*shrug*

Never claimed I was logical.

Perhaps its just the Quixotic hope that maybe, just maybe, I might one day find such a thread with ideas that I actually like.

[True Herald]

Too many people with axes to grind, using the reset as an excuse to get rid of characters they hate or titles they don't like or plot twists they weren't fond of.

You mean like, say, blaming Hal Jordan going crazy and killing off the GL Corps on a yellow fear bug??

Or changing Superboy's origin so that he's the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, as you mentioned in a fan letter in Superboy's book years ago??

How about collaborating with other writers and Dan DiDio to make Ted Kord look like the pariah of the DCU, and have his JLI friend Max Lord be the one to shoot him, retconning Max in order to say that he's been a villain the whole time??

Ah, yes... Axes to grind, using the reset as an excuse to get rid of characters they hate or titles they don't like or plot twists they weren't fond of... You don't say...

[Bo-Man]

Best idea I've read on the thread.

I'd create another huge event and destroy the entire DCU. For real. It would be entropy - the nature state of decay in the universe, and it would be unstoppable. Nothing no way no how could stop it. Heroes, villiains, groups, gizmos, gadgets, girlies, ghouls, zombies, ghosts, mutants, mad scientists, mystics, freaks, geeks, sheiks, gnomes, drones, nothing.

The whole universe, the original DCU, would collapse in and of itself and the sequel to the Big Bang, would occur.

Simple

You would see the birth of the entire DC Megaverse, from a single title, the flagship title, and the line would grow as characters spun out into their own titles.

Nothing that existed previous to this is an issue. There will be no bleedover from the original DCU. The DC Megaverse will blossom and grow, and elements from the past DCU will certainly exist again. Some will be exactly the same, some will never be seen again, and many things will be different.

The original DCU would never ever under any conditions ever be referenced again.

Everything starts with DC Megaverse # 1 and branches off from there.

The Megaverse will have different dimensions, earths, levels, etc, each similar yet different.

How is that so hard ?!

Why can't they do this ? Rebuild the icons from the ground up and literally have a Continuity Cop, the E-i-C. Everything is approved or denied by them and continuity, from this point on, is strict, BUT, that wouldn't be that hard.

Someone like a Warren Ellis has a great and crazy idea we don't use for Earth-1 (or whatever) then fine, it goes someplace else in the DC Megaverse.

No problem.

God that would be so exciting. I think I would buy everything.

Imprint every DC Comic on the cover just below the DC Bullet or swirl or whatever you call it with Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-3, whatever for easy reference to what titles directly connect to each other i.e. The Crime Syndicate would be under the Earth-3 imprint as would Owl-Man or maybe The Secret Society of Super-Heroes.

Explore all 52 Earths, but not all at once. Earth-17 might be referenced somewhere somehow but wouldn't necessarily need it's own title or imprint but those characters could cameo for a certain crossover storyline under an already existing imprint.

Get the best talent you can and go nuts.


I like this idea.There are so many stories ro tell in a multiverse or a megaverse.

[hondobrode]

Thanks !

To me, this is the simplest, and most efficient, solution.

[Zembo]

The sad thing is, my friends and I actually sat down and figured out "Ultimate DC." It was pretty good-I'll see if I can dig some of it up and post it. I only remember snippits.

[Walter West]

G'day people!

Premise:
So there you are, watching some TV when all of a sudden.... the doorbell rings!
You shuffle over to the door, while scratching your belly, and open it.
Lo and behold! It's Dan Didio! He says:
"Here are the keys to the DCU. Do whatever you want with it"

Objective:
You're going to push the big red reset button on the DCU! So list a few amendments/additions/removals that you would make to the DCU so that it's tailored to your liking! Try and limit yourself to 3 items so as to make life easier for other members!

I'll start off:

1) Superman will be the ONLY living Kryptonian. No Kara Zor-El. No Zod. No Power Girl. No Krypto*

2) More cultural diversity in superheroes and more diversity in story settings

3) Cut down the WHOLE DCU to one comic that comes out on a weekly basis. Rotating artist/writer teams mean that this would be possible and on schedule. Writers and artists will be able to do WHATEVER they want once they're doing the duties, as long as it doesn't conflict with previous stories and doesn't leave future writers in the shithole**

Thats it for me!


* Well maybe just Krypto.... and Streaky :tongue:
** I know it's some extreme ideas but my sorority sisters and I think it's fantastic! And lighter on our wallets :smile:

The whole DCU in one comic weekly? If that comic is at least 300 pages long with no ads, maybe...and that doesn't include annuals.

[Walter West]

How about Aqua Tree Bat Tree or Tree lantern?

I like Tree Lantern...it's the Green alternative.

In darkest moss, in brightest bark
I grow my leaves in every park
Let those who sit within my glade
Enjoy the shelter of my shade


I can see it now: Marv Wolfman and George Perez: COIF!!!

CRISIS ON INFINITE FRONDS!!!!!:smile:

[mofo]

The whole DCU in one comic weekly? If that comic is at least 300 pages long with no ads, maybe...and that doesn't include annuals.

It'll still be 24 pages lol
Only one story would be told at a time, and if you don't like a story arc you don't have to weight a few months for it to end...you'll just have to wait a few weeks! :D

[jgiannantoni05]

I would do no reset or reboot, just retcons.

1) Jason Todd is dead again, and never returned from the grave. And Jason was a Black Lantern Corps member during Blackest Night.

2) Lex's origin would be almost identical to his "Smallville" origin...silver spoon, bad father Lionel, journey to bad, kills Lionel, Luthorcorp -> Lexcorp

3) would negotiate a DC/Marvel crossover event


As you can see, I wouldn't change much, since DC continuity is fine as it is IMHO for the most part.

[Forth World]

S@#$. I just caught up on how DiDio and Winick women-in-refrigeratored Billy Batson. That's just heathen and sinful. I've been away from comics so long.

So...we retcon everything so that the wizard Shazam was an agent of the New Gods sent to guide the evolution of humanity. Naturally now that the New Gods are back they are no more pleased at what happened in Trials of Shazam than anyone else is.

So the resurrected New Gods restore the rock of eternity and install one of their own as the new wizard. Batson is back as Earth's Mightiest Mortal.

Marvel Family : New Gods :: Green Lanterns : Oa

^^^ (ooh, opportunity for tension here? big crossover? pitched battle with kryptonians as a third front? yes i think maybe...)

While I'm at it: Mr. Tawky Tawny is now just a tiger who learned how to walk bipedally and talk again. He heads up a new Challengers of the Unknown along with Ibis the Invincible, Lance O'Casey and Beautia Sivana. And Barbara Gordon is now Bat Marvel. She can don the cowl again and still satisfy those of you who like her crippled.

[mofo]

.

Marvel Family : New Gods :: Green Lanterns : Oa


Oooh I likey
But will Tawny still have his jetpack?

[Forth World]

Oooh I likey

Captain Marvel using a Motherbox?????

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5fiC8OWSexw/Sjp8r2tE-oI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/qRF7sqtJ9oQ/s1600-h/Captain+Marvel+#21.bmp

But will he still have his jetpack?

?????

[mofo]

?????

woops i meant talky tawny
i was in a rush to go to class!

[riddler72]

Here's a few ideas:

1.Give The Riddler his own series!

2.More reptilian characters!!!!

3.A super-villian comic that showcases a different villian each month,and shows the world from their point of view!!!

4.Give Wonder Woman rims on her boots,because buccaneer boots are hot,baby!!!

5.Give Lobo his own series again!!!!

[Lady Momus]

1. Editors are not allowed to mandate storylines. They are instead expected to correct grammatical and spelling mistakes, point out inconsistency of characters and storylines, and keep stories from breaking established continuity. In short: EDITING.

2. Killing off characters for shock value is strongly discouraged, although not forbidden. Writers are given more leeway if A) they created the character or B) they can prove that they respect the character's history and will do so within the storyline. (Preferably, the character will go out in a blaze of glory).

3. After an event comic, there must be a minimum of two years before another event comic can occur. This will prevent readers from becoming fatigued by constant event comics. It will also prevent writers from constantly having their stories derailed because they need to tie in to The Absolutely Final Crisis (We Swear) event comic.

4. Identity Crisis was a hallucination of Tim Drake's induced by Scarecrow's fear gas. His father is still alive and well. Sue Dibny and Elongated Man are still happily married and enjoying raising their first child together.

5. Impulse never became Kid Flash and retains his original loveable personality. Alternatively, he tried being Kid Flash, hated it and went back to being Impulse after about five minutes.

[Anxy]

1. Editors are not allowed to mandate storylines. They are instead expected to correct grammatical and spelling mistakes, point out inconsistency of characters and storylines, and keep stories from breaking established continuity. In short: EDITING.

2. Killing off characters for shock value is strongly discouraged, although not forbidden. Writers are given more leeway if A) they created the character or B) they can prove that they respect the character's history and will do so within the storyline. (Preferably, the character will go out in a blaze of glory).

3. After an event comic, there must be a minimum of two years before another event comic can occur. This will prevent readers from becoming fatigued by constant event comics. It will also prevent writers from constantly having their stories derailed because they need to tie in to The Absolutely Final Crisis (We Swear) event comic.

4. Identity Crisis was a hallucination of Tim Drake's induced by Scarecrow's fear gas. His father is still alive and well. Sue Dibny and Elongated Man are still happily married and enjoying raising their first child together.

5. Impulse never became Kid Flash and retains his original loveable personality. Alternatively, he tried being Kid Flash, hated it and went back to being Impulse after about five minutes.

I like your brain.

I like your blog, too. :-)

[mofo]

4. Identity Crisis was a hallucination of Tim Drake's induced by Scarecrow's fear gas. His father is still alive and well. Sue Dibny and Elongated Man are still happily married and enjoying raising their first child together.

But Identity Crisis almost made me cry! I've never been so emotionally invested in a comic before.
Sure, it was pretty "evil" what happened in that story... but it was sooooo beautifully written

[The Chief5425]

But Identity Crisis almost made me cry! I've never been so emotionally invested in a comic before.
Sure, it was pretty "evil" what happened in that story... but it was sooooo beautifully written

+1 on this. I'll never understand the I.C. haters.

[Rampantlad]

OK, first things first ABSOLUTELY no major deaths/resurrections - I'm retconning it all out so that heroes are mortal again, and if they die, they really die (at least until the next major universe-busting reboot. So no death of Superman/Hal/WW?Bats etc - the only death that stands will be Jason Todd's Robin, with an absolute moratorium on anyone ever bringing him back.

Then if they really do wanna kill someone they have to think long and hard about it and it will actually mean something.

The Green lnaterns would only include the proper alotted two for earth's space sector _ I'm putitng my money on Hal and Kyle. NO Alan Scott.

No JSA full stop - i don;t mind there being old retired heros, but no dumb ass universe-spanning SHIT. There will be NO Multiverse. Ever.

I don't want crappy, lazy, alternate timeline stuff - so no Legion either.

No to 8 squillion Kryptonians - only Kal-El, Kara (who will be allowed to have arrived later via the black hole type scenario) and the 3 escaped convicts. No Krypto, no Kal-El superboy. Supes/Lex clone can stay, though a new reason not requiring supes death is needed - maybe he was a secret government back up just in case supes died, and he escaped the Cadmus labs. We can also have Steel as an admirer who steps up, and I do like Cyborg supes, so maybe supes vanished for a whiel allowing some of the Reign Of Supes stuff to be used. I like Eradicator too.

Cassie is Batgirl. Steph is spoiler. Babs is Oracle. Dick is Nightwing, Tim is Robin, though i can see a place for damian. Jason is, i repeat, dead.

I would totally streamline the titles. All Core big characters must have a strong, long-running book - meaning Supes, Bats, Flash, GL, WW, Aquaman etc. catwoman still running, No GCS. No endless out of continuity crap, including Confidential, Superman/batman etc.

God there is so much i wanna do - I'm sure i've forgotten heaps of it! Oh, only one Flash! We'll stick with Barry.

[Rampantlad]

ps, how would you reboot it all?

If i was gonna end the universe, i would do it in a five-part 80 page miniseries, with every single title filling in the gaps in between, and loads of characters, if not all major folk, dying.

As for the cause? no New God stuff (actually, I'd probably retcon them out in the new universe too, along with the Monitors, and maybe even the guardians) Not an Anti-Monitor rehash, though I do love him. No Spectre gone mad stuff.

Perhaps Braniac assaults the planet killing everyone? Or Lex finally becomes emperor of earth and the heros fall? Or maybe a genocidal Triumph returns from his timeline-wiped exile and wreaks seven shades of shit as revenge?

Then reboot kicks in, with all characters redefined behind the scenes, with their new back story to be teased out slowly. Let folks guess what stays and what got chucked.

[Forth World]

woops i meant talky tawny
i was in a rush to go to class!

Talking tiger? Jetpack? F$#% the f%^$ yeah. Hell, I'd make that an ongoing.

[Lady Momus]

+1 on this. I'll never understand the I.C. haters.

I didn't say I hated Identity Crisis. (You'll note that I said to make it into a hallucination rather than just chuck it in the trash.) I'll admit that Brad Meltzer is extremely good at evoking emotions in his readers, and the art was absolutely gorgeous. But as a whole, I just can't bring myself to like the series. I'm a fan of Sue and Ralph, both as individuals and as a couple. It's extremely difficult to like a series that involves a character you loved being raped, killed and then having her body burned for good measure.

Any time I go back and read old JL issues with Sue in them, they're soiled by what happened to her in Identity Crisis. The worst is a misunderstanding where Ralph thinks Sue is pregnant when she isn't. It used to be hilarious because of how goofy and overenthusiastic Ralph was about being a daddy and how exasperated Sue was getting with him. Now it's just uncomfortable.

If I had a reset button, I honestly can't see me not undoing Identity Crisis. If for no other reason than it would mean Sue and Ralph would still be alive and happy.

[MikeCr]

Get the best talent you can and go nuts.I'm with you except for the whole "continuity cop" bit.

Get the best talent you can.

Let them tell stories they want to tell.

Each story* defines it's own reality and borrows "continuity" from other stories where appropriate and ignores what's inappropriate.

If different stories don't line-up together ignore the people who can't deal with it.

Keep the best stories perpetually in print in tpb format as you build of a library of awesome individual stories that can be read independently on their own and don't fall victim to being too topical.

If you want an example of how this would work in practice look at Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory: an awesome story that works entirely on its own and can be read without any relation to what was happening in the rest of the DC Universe at that time. Or The Dark Knight Returns or All-Star Superman or (and I don't even like it) The Long Halloween.

*What defines a story is up to each creator. If it's just one issue then it's just one issue. If it's a longer arc or even an entire run then that's up to them.

[True Herald]

Any time I go back and read old JL issues with Sue in them, they're soiled by what happened to her in Identity Crisis. The worst is a misunderstanding where Ralph thinks Sue is pregnant when she isn't. It used to be hilarious because of how goofy and overenthusiastic Ralph was about being a daddy and how exasperated Sue was getting with him. Now it's just uncomfortable.

Funny Aneurysm Moment (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FunnyAneurysmMoment)

[shaunofthedead]

I think a total reboot would be a bad idea, but I still wanna give this a shot:

Universal disaster implodes the universe and generates a new big bang. History unravels the same as it has in real life, except in a few cases - Jonah Hex, Scalphunter, etc, until we get to the end of the 1930's. Mysterymen start to pop up in the US - Golden Age Green Lantern, Flash, Dr Fate, Sandman, etc - and form the JSA, fight in WWII and generally herald the first age of superheroes (none of the GA heroes are mystically de-aged, so they really do all retire and most are dead by the time we get to the present day).

As time goes by, they are forced to unmask or retire in the McCarthy era witch hunts and the first heroic age ends.

In the sixties, their sons and daughters - Jade, Obsidian, Silver Scarab, etc - start the short-lived second age. Public apathy and lack of experience ends their careers pretty quickly and the hero front goes quiet for years (in this time, groups like the Challengers of the Unknown, King Faraday - basically science and espionage types - are our protectors, but they are never in the limelight) until the present.

The year 200? heralds the debut of a certain Kryptonian, who comes into the public eye following the save of a high-profile space shuttle. Shortly after, in Gotham, a Bat-like figure is terrorising the underworld, and so on and so on...

Basically, the premise of each subsequent series is to tell the first stories of the heroes as they are in their first few years and using the basic iconic versions of each character as a starting point. Other than that, continuity is fair game and can go in any direction. Also, we will see how the world reacts to the new heroes as they increase throughout the world.

No current established storylines are to be beheld as untouchable - for instance, Batman can find a young girl as his first Robin, Dick Grayson could grow up to be a bad guy, Wonder Woman could die in her first few adventures, etc. ANYTHING could happen. This is just the starting point.

One rule would be - No Ultimizing existing storylines, ie Ultimate Armour Wars, Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine, etc, just fresh new stories with fresh new characters.

Won't ever happen in real life, but now will in my mind.

[hondobrode]

I'm with you except for the whole "continuity cop" bit.

Get the best talent you can.

Let them tell stories they want to tell.

Each story* defines it's own reality and borrows "continuity" from other stories where appropriate and ignores what's inappropriate.

If different stories don't line-up together ignore the people who can't deal with it.

Keep the best stories perpetually in print in tpb format as you build of a library of awesome individual stories that can be read independently on their own and don't fall victim to being too topical.

If you want an example of how this would work in practice look at Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory: an awesome story that works entirely on its own and can be read without any relation to what was happening in the rest of the DC Universe at that time. Or The Dark Knight Returns or All-Star Superman or (and I don't even like it) The Long Halloween.

*What defines a story is up to each creator. If it's just one issue then it's just one issue. If it's a longer arc or even an entire run then that's up to them.

I think if you're gonna nuke everything, then there's no reason not to have a tight continuity. I'm still all for that, however, that's not to say there isn't wiggle room here to tell exactly the kinds of stories you referenced. I too like all of them except for The Longest Halloween. Those kinds of stories could still be told in the vast richness of the DC Megaverse on it's own earth.

With 52 earths to play with, there are essentially 52 different continuities. The All Stars could easily have their own earth. Batman hasn't interacted with Superman on that earth yet, so those stories as they stand now are completely valid as they are.

You could have great stories like All-Star Superman that are part of whatever earth's continuity yet don't need to any background other than the very basics like Superman can fly, etc.

By all means, tell good stories. That's the bottom line.

[Jorriss]

Initially there are only a few superheroes.

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Flash
Two Green Lanterns

Eventually a few more come along, and that is it.
Batman gets Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon.
Donna Troy and Mon-El.
Wally West.
Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Aqua lad and Raven.

Wildcat, black canary, green arrow and so on exist, but they are vigilantes in a more treaditional sense that they help, but they aren't superheroes and they don't really work with the aforementioned heroes.

Golden Age heroes all existed, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott but they fought in the 20-40's and died off. None of them are around any longer.

I wouldn't want more than 25 heroes total.

Oh, and eventually, the titans would surpass the JL.

[Jaded Devil]

+1 on this. I'll never understand the I.C. haters.

Then allow me to illuminate.

For me (and this is just me, of course), Identity Crisis represented the end of any kind of sense of fun in the DCU. Characters couldn't simply be goofy or incompetent anymore...there HAD to be a reason for it. If Dr. Light had been a crap villain who suddenly got a shot in the arm powerwise and became a legitimate threat, that would be fine (in fact, that's what they did in Green Lantern just prior to IC). But to go back and say that there was a reason for him being incompetent, and that reason was to take an innocent little gimmick writers used in the 60s/70s and basically turn it into "mind-rape" at the hands of the heroes, because all of a sudden he himself was a rapist (despite never having shown any kind of predilection towards that kind of behavior before), was nothing more than tacking artificial shock value onto the story to make it "edgy" and "dark."

And you know what? It's $#!+ work by a $#!+ writer. And that's not even taking into account things like Jean Loring bringing along an effing FLAME-THROWER "just in case," because everyone carries those (did the idea of the Dibneys having some kind of construction-centric blow torch in their garage that Jean could use to cover up her mistake not cross Metzler's mind?).

And what made things worse is that other writers in the DCU, especially Geoff Johns, took the idea and ran with it. Now it wasn't believable that a bad guy had a change of heart...now they HAD to have had their minds messed with. Guys like Heat Wave and the Pied Piper and the Trickster, who'd retired from crime in a realistic, organic manner in keeping with their characters, were suddenly victims of this same superhero "mind-rape" thing, undoing how many stories just to jump on this ridiculous bandwagon. I mean, wasn't the entire basis/resolution of Underworld Unleashed based upon the Trickster having a change of heart?

And, frankly, I think this led to other stupid decisions, like saying the JLI period of the League was written the way it was because Max Lord was controlling them to be incompetent. The creators couldn't just accept that the stories were written with a light tone...there had to be a REASON for the light tone. And all of this subpar overthinking all goes straight back to Identity Crisis.

I was sad that Sue died, but I understand that...it's a murder mystery and you can't have a murder mystery without a victim. But the rape and the "mind rape" and all of the fallout from that...it all stems back to short-hand "realism" and incompetent storytelling by the writer and editors (and subsequent writers influenced by the story).

Ultimately, people always answer complaints like this with the whole "like you could do better" spiel. In this case, I'm positively confident in responding that you're damn right I could.

[Stanlos]

I'd bring back the New Gods... And stop creators from using characters as cannon fodder.



Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! The Fourth World are great characters.

[Stanlos]

Aside from IDENTITY CRISIS being the most (M Word) things I have ever read, it also retroactively made the heroes really big losers/bullies. The World's Greatest Heroes? How can they really be all that great when Z is manipulating their adversaries' minds so the villains go from being credible threats to long running jokes/gimmicks? I didn't like that part at all.

[brenticles]

The only reason and the only way to viably reset the DCU today would be to do it in such a way that the end result appealed to the widest audience possible. Which means 99% of current fans posting on the internet would be apoplectic.

I’m not sure how it would look but I think some key points would look like this:
1. Cease all monthly publications – it’s a dying business model anyway so stop the bleeding while you retool and retrench
2. Reset all stories to their origin point, if needed redesign characters or rework stories so they appeal to the widest audience in the key demographics desired
3. Focus test to ensure the characters and stories are on target
4. Roll out the new DCU through animated shows on CN and video games – using mediums that lots of people actually might buy
5. Publish graphic novels that expand on the shows and games telling complete stories – again, producing product that retailers will actually carry in large numbers

I have no idea if that would actually work, but I see no point in resetting a fictional universe (the product, if you will) unless that process is leveraged in such a way to increase overall revenues. Otherwise just keep telling stories and if something turns out not to work, ignore it and move on. (Like DC has been doing recently and Marvel has done for ages.) There is no need for any more resets, COIE style or otherwise.

[Anxy]

ps, how would you reboot it all?

I'd run an event miniseries in which all the relevent characters in the DCU are made fully aware that the end of time is coming and there's absolutely nothing they can do about it. The series would cycle DC's heroes and villains through all the stages of grief, until they finally come to a point of acceptance and the last few pages of the last issue would feature the ones who haven't been offed or who haven't offed themselves before the big event, staring into the sky as a bright light makes each panel go whiter and whiter and whiter, and the entire last page would be completely blank. No "to be continued", no "The End?". Just a blank page, symbolizing the blank slate of the forthcoming reboot.

The source of the Big Ending? I think I'd keep it a mystery. It's not an act of villainy or heroism. It just is. The first issue of the DC Reboot series would then likely begin with the first page completely blank as well. That which destroyed would then create.

[The Chief5425]

And what made things worse is that other writers in the DCU, especially Geoff Johns, took the idea and ran with it. .

I can understand your frustration with this, but I don't feel you can pin that on "Identity Crisis" or Brad Metzler. He wrote his story about characters owned by DC, he can't be held accountable for what other writers did with his concepts after the story was over. FWIW I have a similar problem with "The Dark Knight Returns." Frank Miller wrote a dark, grim, obsessed, borderline mentally insane Batman and then writers of the regular "Batman" series spent 20 years trying to top each other. "I can make him even more moody and obsessive and brutal." "No, I can!" "No, I can make him darker!" Until we finally had a character who was such an arrogant, obsessive asshole it's a wonder any other super heroes wanted to be around him. I'm lukewarm on "Infinite Crisis" but I'm glad they used it as a vehicle to get him to lighten the hell up. But the bottom line is that just because some other writers tried (badly) to ape Miller's take on the character doesn't diminish my admiration for DKR.

I'll grant that you're right about the flame thower. Didn't think about it when reading it but yeah, stupid. Gotta wonder about the firearm laws in Ivy City...:wink:

And I still admire "Idenity Crisis" too. Maybe I wouldn't so much if I'd read more of Ralph and Sue during the JLI/JLE era but I was on a roughly ten-year hiatus from buying most comics during that period (in fact, IC is what brought me back into buying comics regularly. Heard it was a good read from "Entertainment Weekly" and other sources, read it and liked it, started picking up a few other titles and before long I was buying regularly again). But I thought the story of Ralph and Sue was touching, and I walked away from it with a lot of respect for Sue. Yeah, something terrible happened to her. She then recovered with grace and dignity and with Ralph standing by her. Yes, it may seem a little jarring and it may make you cry "bullshit" that she never mentioned it in the years since but so what? It's been both my experience and observation that people who have been through terrible traumas don't reference the event every day for the rest of their life, don't walk around with an "I'm a recovered rape victim" sign around their neck just to get some attention (or at least the healthy ones don't).

And it made me interested in characters like Black Canary, Green Arrow, Hawkman, the Atom....League B-listers who hadn't had anything too exciting happen for them in a long time. Not a perfect story, but not worth the burning heat of a thousand suns-level hatred a lot of fandom levels at it, IMO.

[Jaded Devil]

I can understand your frustration with this, but I don't feel you can pin that on "Identity Crisis" or Brad Metzler. He wrote his story about characters owned by DC, he can't be held accountable for what other writers did with his concepts after the story was over. FWIW I have a similar problem with "The Dark Knight Returns." Frank Miller wrote a dark, grim, obsessed, borderline mentally insane Batman and then writers of the regular "Batman" series spent 20 years trying to top each other. "I can make him even more moody and obsessive and brutal." "No, I can!" "No, I can make him darker!" Until we finally had a character who was such an arrogant, obsessive asshole it's a wonder any other super heroes wanted to be around him. I'm lukewarm on "Infinite Crisis" but I'm glad they used it as a vehicle to get him to lighten the hell up. But the bottom line is that just because some other writers tried (badly) to ape Miller's take on the character doesn't diminish my admiration for DKR.

I'll grant that you're right about the flame thower. Didn't think about it when reading it but yeah, stupid. Gotta wonder about the firearm laws in Ivy City...:wink:

And I still admire "Idenity Crisis" too. Maybe I wouldn't so much if I'd read more of Ralph and Sue during the JLI/JLE era but I was on a roughly ten-year hiatus from buying most comics during that period (in fact, IC is what brought me back into buying comics regularly. Heard it was a good read from "Entertainment Weekly" and other sources, read it and liked it, started picking up a few other titles and before long I was buying regularly again). But I thought the story of Ralph and Sue was touching, and I walked away from it with a lot of respect for Sue. Yeah, something terrible happened to her. She then recovered with grace and dignity and with Ralph standing by her. Yes, it may seem a little jarring and it may make you cry "bullshit" that she never mentioned it in the years since but so what? It's been both my experience and observation that people who have been through terrible traumas don't reference the event every day for the rest of their life, don't walk around with an "I'm a recovered rape victim" sign around their neck just to get some attention (or at least the healthy ones don't).

And it made me interested in characters like Black Canary, Green Arrow, Hawkman, the Atom....League B-listers who hadn't had anything too exciting happen for them in a long time. Not a perfect story, but not worth the burning heat of a thousand suns-level hatred a lot of fandom levels at it, IMO.

And, for what it's worth, I'm glad that you got something out of it and it made you care about some of the more B-level guys. Like you said, we both come from different comic-reading backgrounds and so we're naturally going to have different takes on things. I got my start seriously reading comics with the Giffen JLI and Ostrander's Suicide Squad, so IC was even worse for me since it killed off Captain Boomerang, my favorite Squad member. Ah, well...

I'll also concede that, you're right, I can only hold Metzler responsible for his own work, not what others took from his work to use in their own. But it does feel to me that he opened a Pandora's Box of artificial "grit" and "realism" that other writers, writers I had previous enjoyed, glommed onto and ran with. I can honestly say that the IC period represents the beginning of the end of my enjoyment of Geoff Johns as a writer (although I have read the odd book of his since then and thought it was okay).

As for the whole "Sue being raped" thing, my objection isn't that a particular character was raped...it was how the entire thing was handled by the creators. If a story really calls for something like a rape to make it a powerful piece, then include the rape. But think about it...Dr. Light already was threatening Sue (which is within the realm of possibility given his past behavior) and threatening to go after the League's loved ones. That's reason enough to do the "mindwipe" thing. There was no NEED for the rape in that story. Instead, it's tacked on to make Light seem that much MORE of a bad guy, despite never having any real history of any kind of predatory behavior before that point (because apparently being a killer and potential world-conqueror just isn't enough). I guess I view Sue's rape the same way I view Jean packing a flame-thrower...unrealistic, unnecessary, and insulting to me as a reader.

[lead sharp]

Stream line all the books back to what's needed rather than whats sticking to the wall. Batman doesn't need half a dozen books.

All dead characters will hitherto STAY DEAD. This means you Bruce. Dick will retain the mantle. Donna will be Wonder Woman when Diana takes over the throne of New Thymescra and Superman will return to Earth with a new costume and the mindset of training new heroes, oh and raising his new baby girl. Barry Allen will loose his powers, Wally will remain as Flash. Aqualad will be Aquaman and the king of a re-established Atlantis.

The League will retain the big seven and become the meeting point for the different aspects of the DCU, once again becoming a team that handles problems no one member can solve.

Blackest night will be the last crossover for a year and then when the new one comes out it will occur in the annuals and a twelve part monthly ONLY. From there on in crossovers will only occur every other year.

Artists and writers will be considered for their enthusiasm and suitability for a book rather than their big name status.

Make it so.

[Damiean Dark]

Why cant people get over the fact bruce wayne IS BATMAN and will never be replaced just like Clark Kent will always be Superman.

[Jorriss]

Why cant people get over the fact bruce wayne IS BATMAN and will never be replaced just like Clark Kent will always be Superman.
Because it's not a fact. Mainly it's not a fact because Bruce Wayne isn't Batman, Dick Grayson is. Seems to tear a hole in your position. Clark Kent is far less replaceable than Bruce.

[Ginkasa]

I would first get rid of the "DCU." Everything that is wrong with comics is that everything is so entangled and connected that its very difficult to just enjoy a single character or book without being slapped in the face with 70+ years of comics and retcons and crises and events, etc.

Each major character will have their own, completely separate continuity. The biggest ones (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green lantern, etc.) can still have multiple books covering the various characters and wider mythos surrounding them, but books from one character's universe will never cross over into another character's universe. Smaller characters can either have back-up stories in bigger character's groups (but still not related in continuity) or can have stories in anthology type books.

And for those people who love JLA and crossovers can have separate "JLA" and "Brave and the Bold" type books where your favorite heroes can appear together. These books don't necessarily have to maintain any continuity from issue to issue (but can) and have absolutely no connection to the main books.

[Brother Justin Crowe]

- The destruction of Krypton also devastated the Phantom Zone, where General Zod was imprisoned. Eventually both finding their way to Earth, Superman and Zod are the only two survivors of the planet Krypton, with Kal-El being its true last son.

- The Question, not Blue Beetle, died investigating Maxwell Lord's illegal activities, which most certainly had nothing to do with Infinite or Final Crisis, as those never happened. Blue Beetle, not The Question, died of cancer while training his replacement (Jaime Reyes, not Renee Montoya). Much more fitting deaths, as The Question was a detective and BB was already a legacy hero.

- John Henry Irons never stopped being Steel.

- Barry Allen is dead. Jade and J'onn J'onzz are alive.

- Wally West is The Flash, Hal Jordan is The Spectre and Kyle Rayner is Green Lantern.

- Parallax was Hal Jordan, and not some extremely ridiculous yellow fear parasite demon or whatever. Because that's stupid. Hal just cracked and became Parallax. The end.

- One Lantern corps: Green, baby.

- Hawkman and related characters are erased from canon for clarity's sake. Rann's antagonists, as opposed to Thanagar, are their "new neighbor", the planet Xanthu, which may or may not actually exist in 1,000 years.

- Batman is a true loner with no partners, and only Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne family butler, knows his identity. He has a tenuous relationship with Commissioner Jim Gordon, which is tolerated by other GCPD members including Crispus Allen, Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock, Josie Mac and, yes, Chief O'Hara. Characters like Robin, Catwoman, etc. can crop up as imitators, though a "Bat-Family" will never firmly exist. He will occasionally come to blows with Alan Scott (aka Sentinel), and Ragman, who patrol Gotham in their own ways.

- Harvey Dent's/Two-Face's inherent similarities to Bruce Wayne/Batman are played up more and to such an extent as to make him Batman's true nemesis, with The Joker getting the true arch-foe he's always deserved: Jim Gordon.

- Barbara Gordon is in training to become a GCPD officer, against her father's best wishes.

- Along with Thomas and Martha Wayne, Thomas Wayne Jr. was murdered the night the Waynes went to see a re-release double bill of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt and Kazan's On the Waterfront.

[Munkiman]

I might have Hal Jordan get redeemed through his own willpower, not a fear bug retcon. But that's pretty much it, I like the current state of the DCU.

Oh, and give Blue Beetle and the Spectre new series!

And maybe we could undo the rape of Sue Dibny. And maybe the murder, but definitely the rape. Even though I would have to sacrifice the hilariousness that is Dr. Rape.

Oh yeah, and make the JLA cool again! Seriously. And maybe important crossover stuff could happen there, instead of it just being another book.

[Munkiman]

Why cant people get over the fact bruce wayne IS BATMAN and will never be replaced just like Clark Kent will always be Superman.
Because nobody, including DC, honestly thinks Dick Grayson is permanently replacing Bruce Wayne? And we're just enjoying this fun little change while it lasts?

[d newton]

You mean like, say, blaming Hal Jordan going crazy and killing off the GL Corps on a yellow fear bug??

Or changing Superboy's origin so that he's the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, as you mentioned in a fan letter in Superboy's book years ago??

How about collaborating with other writers and Dan DiDio to make Ted Kord look like the pariah of the DCU, and have his JLI friend Max Lord be the one to shoot him, retconning Max in order to say that he's been a villain the whole time??

Ah, yes... Axes to grind, using the reset as an excuse to get rid of characters they hate or titles they don't like or plot twists they weren't fond of... You don't say.
All of the things you listed were good. BTW - I'm still waiting for a reply to the PM I sent you.