Being the second in a series of articles looking at the old Who's Who series' collection of entries and imagining how many entries would make up a new DC reference work before and after the Flushpoint. (Volume 1, here.)
Then:
Some 33 entries there, admittedly with a couple outside DC continuity (Babe of Atari Force and Barren Earth). What's left of that list when we cut it down to manageable New52 size?
Youch! Only 16 left, and it's because I'm being rather generous. That's a totally different Azrael concept and I'm taking Batman I to mean the deceased Batman of Earth-2. Still some surprises of course. Bat Lash is there thanks to an All Star Western back-up, and Baron Winters because of an attempt to resurrect Night Force. Of course today this would be the big Batman issue, and would include a double-page spread for Batman Incorporated, two different Batwings, and if we're really lucky, a half-page for Bat-Cow. Some Batmen from Batman Inc. might get preferential treatment, like the Batman of Japan who recently starred in his own very cool solo story. Who else would the New52 fit between Azrael and Blackhawks? The Barbary Ghost, Bane, Beast Boy (moving over from Changeling's spot), Beowulf, the Birds of Prey, Black Adam (who was sorely missed in the original Who's Who), the Baker and the Black Banshee. That gets us up to 29 entries at most, still shy of the original continuity's number. That's what happens when your universe is barely 5 years old.
Alternate now: In the pre-Flushpoint universe, when a new Who's Who was SUPPOSED to come out (at the same time Legacies did), there might still be a few cuts. The non-continuity characters, of course, but a crappy Outsiders villain du jour like Baron Bedlam might have been excised too, no matter what kind of role he played in the team's initial formation (minimal). The issue would have contained a lot of the characters mentioned above in the New52 section, especially the Batman-related stuff: Batman Inc., the all-new all-different Batwoman, plus at least two new Azraels and Batgirls.
Who else? Alphabetically, I might see Azarath, Aztek, Bad Penny, Bad Samaritan (if lame Outsiders villains are still in), The Banner, forgotten Quality Comics character the Barker, Baron Sunday, Baron Tyrano, Barracuda, Barter, some love for Batman Beyond, Battalion, Bedlam, Belle Reve, Bette Noire, Bialya, Bibbo, Big Science Action, Black Alice, Black Baron, Black Beetle, a couple of new Black Condors, Black Flash, Blackgate Prison and Blackguard. But you know me, I wouldn't REALLY be happy unless we also saw Batzarro, Beard Hunter, Beefeater, Archie analog Binky, and Beppo the Super-Monkey.
And of course, that's not all the "B"s. They go on for another issue. I guess we'll have to pick this back up next week. In the meantime, who did I miss? What would your dream Who's Who have between Auron (end of vol.1) and Black Lightning (start of vol.2)?
Then:
Alternate now: In the pre-Flushpoint universe, when a new Who's Who was SUPPOSED to come out (at the same time Legacies did), there might still be a few cuts. The non-continuity characters, of course, but a crappy Outsiders villain du jour like Baron Bedlam might have been excised too, no matter what kind of role he played in the team's initial formation (minimal). The issue would have contained a lot of the characters mentioned above in the New52 section, especially the Batman-related stuff: Batman Inc., the all-new all-different Batwoman, plus at least two new Azraels and Batgirls.
Who else? Alphabetically, I might see Azarath, Aztek, Bad Penny, Bad Samaritan (if lame Outsiders villains are still in), The Banner, forgotten Quality Comics character the Barker, Baron Sunday, Baron Tyrano, Barracuda, Barter, some love for Batman Beyond, Battalion, Bedlam, Belle Reve, Bette Noire, Bialya, Bibbo, Big Science Action, Black Alice, Black Baron, Black Beetle, a couple of new Black Condors, Black Flash, Blackgate Prison and Blackguard. But you know me, I wouldn't REALLY be happy unless we also saw Batzarro, Beard Hunter, Beefeater, Archie analog Binky, and Beppo the Super-Monkey.
And of course, that's not all the "B"s. They go on for another issue. I guess we'll have to pick this back up next week. In the meantime, who did I miss? What would your dream Who's Who have between Auron (end of vol.1) and Black Lightning (start of vol.2)?
Comments
Oh, and nice reference to the new Batwing. Been with that title since the start and I'm very much displeased with that development.