DC’s ‘Final Crisis’ or The Last Straw?????

Ok ok… we know that we only just announced that we were taking a brief hiatus from our blog and from our comic book bloviating—but we nearly fell out of our chair when we saw the image (see above) that DC Comics has released via Newsarama.com.

Our very first thought that came to mind was, “Egad, they just couldn’t leave well enough alone could they?”

“Heroes Die. Legends Live Forever” All very true, but great stories are born and then marketed, not market first and manufacture the plot later. Coming in May 2008, just as Countdown finishes counting down. How convenient.

DC should really call it Crisis III: The Apology. Perhaps they would be more honest in calling it “The Hail Mary Pass” but there’s no way to fit “Crisis” in there.

This just smells of desperation on the part the powers that be at DC, whom have not been able to do anything right since that clowns in a Volkswagen production that ended up being called Infinite Crisis.

In her own blog, Occasional Superheroine has her own theory as to DC’s surprise announcement http://occasionalsuperheroine.blogspot.com/2007/07/ultimizing-dcu-current-debate-raging-in.html.

The upshot of her theory is that she thinks this may be an attempt by DC to restart the clock (again) on the whole DC Universe and related continuity.

“I think DC will, for "Final Crisis," do some variation on "ultimizing"/rebooting/de-aging their characters. For the core characters, you will still have Bruce Wayne as Batman, Clark Kent as Superman, etc. But they will start at square one. "Streamlined." No characters appearing older than 25-30. No marriages, no steady girlfriends. So Superman is a free agent, romance-wise. You could even see the comics restarted at #1. For the more secondary characters, you choose the version that has been most popular. GL = Hal Jordan, Flash = Wally West, etc.

"What would such an "ultimizing" accomplish?It would make it easier for their characters to blend in with what is being done with the movies & TV shows. You will get another spike in sales with all the reboots & #1s. Sure, fanboys & girls will complain at first. But you explain it away as a decision based on a "love & respect" for the characters -- to get at the "heart" of who they are really about.You rewrite a lot of bulls**t.”

OC used to work deep within the bowels of the DC mothership so her inside insight, as well as her smart blog commentary carry a lot of weight with us.

A total, top-to-bottom continuity re-boot is what DC SHOULD have done immediately after the final issue of CRISIS on Infinite Earths in early 1986. But in their defense at the time, everything about the original CRISIS was unprecedented and they simply were not prepared for how big it became.

Yet more than 20 years and a totally failed Crisis sequel later, a total wiping and re-boot of the continuity hard drive is something that perhaps should not be dismissed out of hand. It’s just that cynical old FanBoyWonder has absolutely NO FAITH in current DC management NOT to frak it all up.

Our Spidey Sense tells us that this out of nowhere Final Crisis tease is a seat of the pants operation by DC. Occasional Superheroine would seem to hold the same opinion.

“I think yesterday's "Final Crisis" teaser image was something hastily put together in response to "Countdown's" increasingly poor sales & in lieu of the San Diego Comic Con. I think if DC has a conception of "Final Crisis" at all, it is in its most youthful stages.

"And I think fan response to the image -- how they interpret it, what they like or dislike about it -- will have a definite impact on what direction that particular event is taken. For all we know, tossing such images online without comment could be the company's way of conducting "snap" marketing research.

And to those who will counter with "DC already sort of rebooted half these characters 2 or 3 years ago! They wouldn't have the balls to pull a stunt like this!" -- I think they would.”

Balls perhaps, but greatness requires heart. Can anyone tell us when’s the last time they really felt heart come from a DC story?

Of course, that’s just our opinion. We could be wrong. We’re going back on hiatus….see you in a couple weeks.