Being the third 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.
Then:
Volume III actually fairs pretty well (if I'm generous), its 31 entries getting cut only by 11 in the New52:
I say "if I'm generous" because the Brain Waves have just now appeared in Earth2 without any kind of super alias (and with the last name Roy instead of King), and Byth no doubt exists because Hawkman frames a poor guy with his identity in Justice League of America, but he doesn't actually make an appearance. B'wana Beast (or is it Freedom Beast now?) is one of the JLI's potentials in the team book's first issue, but he's not called upon. And I don't think Bouncing Boy's made an appearance in the New52 yet, but since Legion history was unaffected by the reboot, it's fair to say he's still teaching at the Academy. So some dodgy ones there. At least there's still a Blue Beetle, even if it's not Ted Kord.
The New52 issue would also have to contain an entry on the Blue Beetle Corps or whatever that was, and the Blue Lanterns too. Bunker of the Teen Titans warrants an entry, as might such characters as Bloody Mary, Black Jack, Bone, Bone-Crusher, Breakdown and Brighteyes. Not that I could tell you anything about them off the top of my head. Oh, I guess Black Mask has been seen, right? And the Body Doubles and Booster Gold makes 12 new entries to replace the lost material, getting us just beyond the original length (or the same, since there's no way the Brotherhood of Evil would get two pages today). No wait! I forgot the White Witch is now called the Black Witch, and how about an entry for Brother Eye? And the Books of Magic? And is that..? Yes, it's the Native American hero John Butcher in Green Arrow this month. Phew! For a minute there, I didn't think we'd make it.
Now had a new Who's Who come out when it was announced it would, before the New52 was even a gleam in some greedy executive's eye, it would have been a much thicker book. I don't think any of the original entries need to be cut (there's even a new Blackstarr to replace the pre-Crisis one). From the updates, we would restore Booster Gold, Blasters, Blaze, Bloodsport, Bloodwynd, Blue Jay & Silver Sorceress, Blue Beetle I, Blue Trinity, Brimstone, the Brotherhood of Dada, Black Mace, Black Thorn and Black Mask to the alphabetical order. There's the new Blue Beetle of course, but also new versions of Blackrock
And how about the Blight, Blüdhaven, Brutale, Bulleteer, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, Bumblebee, Blindside, Bob the Galactic Bum, Bombshell, Boodikka, Breach, Brother Grimm and Brother Night, Bruno Manheim, Bushido, Blood Pack, Blood Syndicate, the Bloodlines Parasites, Brotherhood of the Bat, Black Ops, and the Book of Destiny maybe. The Blue Lanterns, Body Doubles and Brother Eye weren't just in the New52, they'd get entries too. I would have dared DC to give entries to Black Vulcan, Buzzy and Bob Hope, but wouldn't have expected any sugar there.
But you know me, more is so much more. Did I miss any of your favorites?
Then:
The New52 issue would also have to contain an entry on the Blue Beetle Corps or whatever that was, and the Blue Lanterns too. Bunker of the Teen Titans warrants an entry, as might such characters as Bloody Mary, Black Jack, Bone, Bone-Crusher, Breakdown and Brighteyes. Not that I could tell you anything about them off the top of my head. Oh, I guess Black Mask has been seen, right? And the Body Doubles and Booster Gold makes 12 new entries to replace the lost material, getting us just beyond the original length (or the same, since there's no way the Brotherhood of Evil would get two pages today). No wait! I forgot the White Witch is now called the Black Witch, and how about an entry for Brother Eye? And the Books of Magic? And is that..? Yes, it's the Native American hero John Butcher in Green Arrow this month. Phew! For a minute there, I didn't think we'd make it.
Now had a new Who's Who come out when it was announced it would, before the New52 was even a gleam in some greedy executive's eye, it would have been a much thicker book. I don't think any of the original entries need to be cut (there's even a new Blackstarr to replace the pre-Crisis one). From the updates, we would restore Booster Gold, Blasters, Blaze, Bloodsport, Bloodwynd, Blue Jay & Silver Sorceress, Blue Beetle I, Blue Trinity, Brimstone, the Brotherhood of Dada, Black Mace, Black Thorn and Black Mask to the alphabetical order. There's the new Blue Beetle of course, but also new versions of Blackrock
And how about the Blight, Blüdhaven, Brutale, Bulleteer, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, Bumblebee, Blindside, Bob the Galactic Bum, Bombshell, Boodikka, Breach, Brother Grimm and Brother Night, Bruno Manheim, Bushido, Blood Pack, Blood Syndicate, the Bloodlines Parasites, Brotherhood of the Bat, Black Ops, and the Book of Destiny maybe. The Blue Lanterns, Body Doubles and Brother Eye weren't just in the New52, they'd get entries too. I would have dared DC to give entries to Black Vulcan, Buzzy and Bob Hope, but wouldn't have expected any sugar there.
But you know me, more is so much more. Did I miss any of your favorites?
Comments
Incidentally, and I'm probably the only person who cares about this, but the Black Spider was another one of those characters I only discovered via Who's Who and thought ruled, and I was pretty disappointed with his depiction in Suicide Squad (though a lot of people are disappointed with the depiction of EVERYONE ELSE in that book)
I actually liked Black Spider in Suicide Squad, but honestly, the way his brand was weakened by the second and third guys to use his name while he was in Lucifers' realm made any reinterpretation that still had the anti-hero take seemed great.