The New 52-One Year Later
It’s been exactly a year since DC cancelled every single series and relaunched it’s franchise with 52 new series. That of course did not mean that we would be forever saying goodbye to legends such as Superman, Batman, The Green Lantern and many others. It also meant that we would be getting to see some newer faces and old ones with a fresh start including series’ from Wildstorm and Vertigo since they joined DC last year.
Now DC didn’t just take all their stories and throw them out. They had a foolproof path that would work as canon. Flashpoint, a miniseries starring The Flash, was the setup for the New 52. Now, without getting into too many details (just go read Comic Vine), Barry Allen, Flash, wakes up one day with no powers to find his timeline completely altered; including no Justice League, Superman and his deceased mother.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead.
In a world where there is no Bruce Wayne, no Superman, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman are married AND the bad guys, Barry sees that it is time to do something about this altered timeline. He decides to recreate the accident that originally gave him his powers. Thawne, Reverse-Flash, appears to Allen, telling him that he himself created this new timeline to stop the former from killing his mother. Flash pulled the Speed Force within him and crushed the history of the heroes. Paradoxes ensue and, with Barry’s powers restored, he travels back in time to save his mother from an untimely death and restore the timeline to its original form. Unfortunately, while travelling, he then realizes he can see three different timelines, DC, Vertigo and Wildstorm, as well as a mysterious woman in a red hooded cloak. She tells Flash that the world was split into three different timelines to save it from an approaching threat but will now be restored as an even stronger one to stop it. Hence we get a brand new universe, The New 52. I seriously see what you did there DC. Very clever.
So now that you are all caught up on some history of The New 52, lets talk about the current and the future. While I don’t think I need I want to talk about the individual stories, I do want to talk this mysterious hooded woman. She was placed somewhere in each of the new 52 volume one editions. Check them all out here. Who is she? What is her purpose? What significance does she play in the new DC universe? Her name was revealed to be Pandora and yes, she does have a box.
Her origin was revealed in May during Free Comic Book Day in one appropriately titled The New 52! written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by big names in the industry including Jim Lee, Ivan Reis and more. It also reveals a catastrophic event that has yet to happen, The Trinity War. Presumably, this war is based on three people who committed ultimate, unforgivable sins and are known and ‘The Trinity of Sin’. Pandora, The Question and Phantom Stranger were punished by the original cosmic powers; each one sentenced to Earth to live out their lives in loneliness, observing the world around them.
This will not do. Centuries later, Pandora needs salvation; release from her torment. And the Justice League will help her with that whether they want to or not. It is safe assume that, back in Flashpoint, she merged the timelines for that specific reason. It is also safe to assume that the approaching threat mentioned in Flashpoint, is in fact the up and coming Trinity War. We get a glimpse of a scene from the war with some amazing art by Jim Lee from the free comic back in May.
Who’s fighting who? My mind is in shambles on what will the future hold. I cannot wait to see what DC has in store for us next year. In the mean time, lets finish up this year with a boom!
…too cheesy?
