There have been a couple announcements from DC Comics lately that have got some fans a little agitated – that Superman: Birthright is now the official origin of Superman, and that John Byrne’s Doom Patrol represents the first in-continuity appearance of the team (despite the previous series, including one that just ended a few months ago).
And you know what? Despite having been a Superman fan for about three decades, despite owning the all the original My Greatest Adventures and 60s Doom Patrols, not to mention the brilliant Grant Morrison issues…
…I have absolutely no problem with this “meddling” with comics continuity. With regards to Superman, even Byrne (who was responsible for the last major revamping of the character) had stated on his message board that we were about due for another revamping of Superman anyway, since it seems to happen about every 15 to 20 years or so. Besides, how many people out there are really all that put off by this? There can’t be that many people who have been reading the Super-titles nonstop since Byrne’s mid-80s reboot, are there? I mean, I have, but then there’s something wrong with me.
I have to admit, the Doom Patrol business made me laugh out loud…I admire the sheer gall of rendering previous Doom Patrol appearances null and void. I mean, Beast Boy/Changeling alone is completely screwed by it! Again, I have no real problem with it…aside from supplying Beast Boy for the New Teen Titans, it’s not like the Doom Patrol were central to the DC Universe or anything. It does mess with Swamp Thing continuity, though, gosh darn it!
Really, if it bothers anyone that much…just chalk it up to Hypertime!
ADDITIONAL LINKAGE:
The Mark Waid interview, linked above, mentions the influence of one of my favorite Supeman writers, Elliot S! Maggin. Here’s a page devoted to the man’s Super-work – I very highly recommend his two Superman novels.
