Redefining Death In The DC Universe
(Onomatoepeia time again – This is from May.)
Color me unsurprised to read that DC head honcho Dan Didio is telling interviewers that their summer event Blackest Night will have far-reaching consequences for the DC Universe, including the deaths of some fan-favorite characters, especially considering that the whole thing is about dead people coming back to life (Including Pa Kent and the Flying Graysons! Finally, DC’s characters are embracing all their parental issues and coming to terms with them in a mature, adult way that is only slightly undercut by having said parents be undead agents of a mysterious evil force that’s probably hellbent on doing something that will involve the multiverse in one way or another, as all DC’s events seem to. Nonetheless, I support their bold move, and look forward to the next weekly DC title, Dad Comics). After all, isn’t that what we come to event books for? No-one really bought Civil War or Secret Invasion because they couldn’t wait to find out whether Mark Millar had reached a whole new plateau of managing to make characters sound insincere and surprisingly shallow or because they just had to read the next Brian Michael Bendis Spidey bon mot like “Skrulls? You mean the green guys with the funny chins? Yeah, that’s right, I’m speaking like I’ve never met a Skrull before because it gives my writer a chance to force some humor into the story while also allowing for exposition for new readers, even if it does sacrifice characterization (I am so lame).” No, event books are supposed to feature events so shocking that you can only see them at least two issues in advance (Hello, death of Wasp) and normally involve dying; it’s part of the contract that we all signed when we agreed to read superhero comics in the first place (That wasn’t just me, right?).
And so, I’m fully prepared for Hawkman and Hawkgirl to die for a second time in as many years – Seriously, what was with their dying/non-dying at the end of Final Crisis? – because that’s what I want to see when I pick up Blackest Night #1, much more than I want to see undead Ronnie Raymond or undead Aquaman… or, for that matter, undead Hawkman and Hawkgirl. But then, after promising me that I’ll get what I pay for, Didio went on to make me very worried indeed. He promised that Blackest Night will also “redefine what death means in the DC Universe.”
Wait. What?
Exactly how will it redefine death? Isn’t death pretty well defined already? As in, “It’s not being alive?” Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of loopholes in staying dead in the DC – and, for that matter, almost every other superhero and soap opera – Universe, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a problem with the definition of death, more one with the definition of (a) how permanent death is, and (b) the revolving door on the afterlife. It’s always worth remembering that almost all of DC’s most recognizable superheroes have now, at one point or another, died and come back to life. Think about it for a second: Superman? Yup. Batman? He’s still “dead” (Okay, omega beamed into the past and/or another Earth, but I’m still curious as to what the deal was with that Batman-costumed corpse in Final Crisis). Green Lantern? Yes. Flash? Just come back the other month. Green Arrow. Indeed. Hawkman? Numerous times! Aquaman’s only purpose in the last few years has been to die! Only Wonder Woman has so far escaped the afterlife, and that’s only because she was made of clay in the first place. So looking at it like that, I can see the point of trying to come up with some new rules regarding dying in the DCU… I just don’t know how they’re going to get around to doing it.
(I really hope that there’s some Blackest Night tie-in that is just 32 pages of characters sitting around, saying “You know, I’m really glad that I managed to come back to life before all this happened. It’d have sucked to have been a Black Lantern, don’t you think?” to each other. Brad Meltzer could write it; he’s really good at stories full of faux gravitas and very little happening, as anyone who read DC Universe: Last Will & Testament can tell you.)
If nothing else, I’m uneasy with the idea of Geoff Johns being the writer to come up with the new death rules. If there’s been one writer who’s done more to damage the permanence of death in the DC Universe over the last few years, it’s Johns, who seemingly can’t help himself when it comes to the old resurrection game. In one sense, you can’t really blame him; I mean, Green Lantern: Rebirth was a big hit, and ended up making his name and giving him a franchise that allowed him to do Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night and the upcoming final part of the series, Rainbow Lanterns: The Animated Series. Who can really say that he was wrong to go back to that well with The Flash: Rebirth and the dual returns of Superboy and Kid Flash in Legion of 3 Worlds? Admittedly, that last one still seem more than a little like the writer was all “Seriously, I just got around to reading that last Flash series, and you killed off Bart? What the hell was that? You made him all old and angst-ridden and changed his character entirely and then just killed him off? Were you guys all high? Jeez, just leave it to me. I’ll fix it. Seriously, I’m sick of having to clean up after you guys. Next time, stop doing stupid crap in the first place,” but I can’t say that I disagree with him too much. But my point remains: The man is hooked on bringing characters back to life.
Sure, at least he does it in an interesting way. Any other writer would’ve come up with some lame “Hey, that wasn’t really Hal Jordan who went mad, killed people and died, the real Hal was… uhhhh… asleep! And now he’s awake again! Yay!” excuse, but Johns decided to go the “Okay, so there’s this giant yellow fear god, okay, and he was, like, possessing Hal, who is dead, but he can get better…” route. Same with Flash: Rebirth, which at least starts with the idea that Barry Allen should’ve stayed dead all along, even if - spoiler! – we all know that he’s going to be fine and dandy and running around like a mofo by the end of the series. Me, if I’d been given the job of writing the same series, I would’ve just had it start with Barry saying “Hey, you all saw that I came back during Final Crisis, right? So, you know, there’s my rebirth story right there. Time for a quick nap… Back in a flash!” before winking at the reader, thereby showing you just why I’ve never made it as a professional comics corpse-regressioner.
(My other Rebirth pitches, just because: Aquaman: Rebirth opens with Arthur climbing out the ocean, perfectly alive. Someone – let’s say it’s the assembled stunned Teen Titans – point out that he was dead, and he just laughs it off: “What, dead? No, I was in a sea coma, and the salt in the ocean just preserved me very well while I healed.” I’m getting to the core of the character, you see? Same with my Martian Manhunter: Rebirth idea, which is him wandering into the JLA HQ and pointing out that he has no idea who that guy they thought was him getting killed, because how likely is it that a guy who can turn invisible, change his shape and has all of Superman’s powers could just get killed by being stabbed like that in the first place. The other five issues would be everyone trying to find out who the fake J’Onn was, before the final issue reveals that it’s really a rogue Doombot trying to make up for his past sins, leading to an all new Marvel Vs. DC miniseries. I’m telling you, I have it all planned out, just waiting for the greenlight from the powers that be.)
But I digress. My point, way back when, was that – even if death needs to be redefined for the DC Universe, a point I am already entirely unconvinced about – there must be a better person to redefine it than the man who has probably caused the need for redefinition more than anyone else at the company in the last ten years. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that Geoff Johns is a bad writer, or that he shouldn’t be given as many high profile projects that will, at some point, involve a guest shot of some sort by the Legion of Super-Heroes as possible, because neither of those is anywhere close to true. But what I am saying is that, perhaps, there is someone better suited to be given the task of settling, once and for all, what “death” means in a fictional reality where demons rhyme and Jim Starlin keeps being given opportunities to try and make people care about Captain Comet.
That man is, of course, Tim Gunn.
I know, I know; you’re stunned by just how logical it is. It’s alright. Sit down and take a moment to compose yourself, we’ll all still be here when you get back.
Gunn, for those of you who don’t watch television’s Project Runway is the fashion world’s version of the Avengers’ Jarvis, only with more gay and more hair. He’s endlessly helpful, kind and humble, and with a quick wit that makes you love him even when you’re slightly embarrassed to watch him try to pick up the hep young kids’ lingo like “holla atcha boy” (Don’t ask), all ingredients that make him the ideal person to finally help define death for DC moving forward.
The problem, you see, is that I was reading Dan Didio’s statement too literally. Death, as a concept, doesn’t need any redefinition at all in the DC Universe or anywhere else. It’s Death, the personification of that concept, that needs what Mr. Gunn would eagerly describe as a makeover after decade of confusion about its look. Consider, if you will, that while Death in the Marvel Universe has one simple look – Hooded, cloak and the skull-face, which may not look good to us but drives Thanos wild with desire – DC’s Death has tried to be a little more… variable with the image. We’ve seen the Black Flash, riffing on Barry Allen’s classic costume, we’ve seen the ankh-ridden goth look, and who can forget the Black Racer, where death came with skis? But now, in this new millennium, it’s time for something new, and you can’t blame Didio for worrying that the Black Lantern thing isn’t going to convince critics. So why not seek out a fashion professional to redefine the look of Death for a whole new generation, and try to grab a few headlines while you’re at it? It seemed like a no-brainer… at least until Marvel announced that they’d already sewn up Gunn for an appearance in Marvel Divas, their fashion-forward mini-series.
It’s a setback, I can’t deny it. If not Gunn, then who could possibly take his place? Isaac Mizrahi, who’s already proving to be a distant second in Runway rip-off The Fashion Show? I don’t think so – and don’t even come near me with suggestions of the hosts of TLC’s top-rated-for-a-minor-cable-channel What Not To Wear. So, sadly, perhaps we’re left with Geoff Johns leading the charge once again after all. On the plus side, now that he’s no longer writing every book that DC publishes any longer, there’s every chance that Didio could send him to fashion school for awhile to try and come up with something that wouldn’t seem too out of place on the runway of New York Fashion Week… or, at the very least, an episode of Ugly Betty. Just make sure that no-one lets him rip an arm or two off the final costume. He has a tendency for that kind of thing, sadly.
Related posts: