Convergence Wish List

Yesterday, while I was discussing Week 4 of Convergence, I mentioned how I would like to see the adult (or not so adult) Scribbly in normal continuity. He's a fun character, and could act as an outside observer/commentator in the style of Marvels or Astro City, working as a cartoonist for some lowly independent newspaper. But who else? If we take Telos at his word, the winning city from Convergence will be allowed to "exist", which at first sounded like its properties would be returned to Earth-0, though it's looking more and more like that continuity will become one of the Multiverse's Earths (one of the mystery worlds Morrison left on the map?). Whatever. We all know the event can't end with a single winning city, too many heroes will try to subvert the rules and defeat Telos instead of one another. Which creates an opportunity for characters from ANY continuity to pop up in the Continuity-formerly-known-as-the-New-52, be it as a retcon or an implant.

What we're likely to get
We already have access to DC's June solicitations and can get an idea of the immediate effects of Convergence on the core universe. Two properties have been tied into DC's long-term strategy and it could be said Convergence continued their story, as a bridge between Futures' End/World's End and the new status quo: Batman Beyond and Earth 2.

Solicitation for the former expressly mentions Terry "Batman Beyond" McGuinnis' exploration of his new reality, the DCU's "true future", which according to the cover, includes the Atomic Knights, OMAC and Kamandi. Not sure how the Beyond heroes fit that history, but that seems to be the gist of it. As for the New52 version of Earth 2, its heroes lost their world to the forces of Apokolips, and ended up orphaned on Telos, acting as the main protagonists of the core Convergence mini-series. Looks like they could be "winning", with the new Earth 2 acting as a hodgepodge of various realities. The solicitation for Earth 2: Society also mentions a "new world" to explore. The cover only shows New52 Earth 2 characters (the new Batman likely their Dick Grayson), but it's conceivable this will be like Green Lantern Mosaic, except with populations from various cities seen in Convergence, trying to build a new world. The cover to #2 shows a strange looking city in a desert environment, so I guess it won't be an amalgamated Earth where, say, the JSA fights crime in New York, the Marvel Family in Fawcett, the Charlton heroes in Hub City, the Tangents in Central, etc. One wonders how much space to grow will non-New52 characters be given.

We can, I think, take for granted that no series continuing its pre-Convergence numbering will have been affected, and while characters like Prez and Dr. Fate ARE from other universes, these are clearly new versions of them, and so must be called the New52 versions. It's possible Black Canary gets retconned to an earlier version, just going by her look. Similarly, Starfire will no longer be an "Outlaw" and gets her own series, with a less revealing costume. Is this likewise a reversion/retcon? Bizarro gets a series, but is it the Bizarro that was trapped on Telos? Bat-Mite looks like he's going through the DCU to "fix" it, but I very much doubt DC is going to make real changes to its continuity in an overtly comedic series (though I'd love it if they hade that level of audacity). If that's Power Girl in Earth 2, who's the Power Girl in the Harley Quinn/PG book? And what of Garth Ennis' Section 8 mini-series? Hitman isn't in New52 continuity, is he?

My choices from the menu
It's clear not every character featured in Convergence can actually be considered for a return to the core universe. The announcements made by DC preclude any convergent changes to Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, for example. I'll keep that wishlist for the end. So what can we actually consider to be ON the menu?

The WWII heroes. I think DC's 5-year-time line has been a bust. It didn't make sense from the start, distracting from good stories rather than serving as a story engine. Retcon that turd, and restore DC's Golden Age to its proper glory. There were heroes, "mystery men", and then they passed into legend. When the Justice League shows up in the 2010s, the All-Star Squadron has been all but forgotten. The kids these days see the new heroes as the only ones; it's been 70 years since any of the old guys were active. Let them have a certain legacy, where writers want them, and maybe even set a book in that era, at some point, so we can rediscover DC's long history. Roy Thomas' ASS was a big part of what made me fall in love with the DCU, and I think readers today would be just as interested in anything that deepens the fictional world they're following.

The Pre-Crisis Hawkman and Hawkwoman. I've never hidden my feelings about this. The best Earth-1 version of Hawkman and Hawkwoman is the one where they're a sexy space couple. I realize they weren't necessarily in the best spot just before the Crisis, but the Shadow War storyline they returned to in Convergence proved to me that version still had something, especially with more modern art. Tim Truman basically gave us something halfway between the Kubert Silver Age stuff and his own Hawkworld, and I loved it. It's time to do away with the Hawk avatar bull and reset the characters to their baseline.

Another couple I'd dearly want back: Ralph and Sue Dibny. Oh, and the Legion. But I'd say this at the end of any event. I'm biased.

Way off the map
And what about the stuff I KNOW I can't have?

If it were up to me, I'd go back and undo a lot of what the New52 did and bring back much stronger versions from the past. Superman and Lois, once again married. The clone Superboy from back when he was cool, fade and earring and all. The Suicide Squad as it was, not at its post-punk worst. The Marvel Family as they appear here and in Multiversity. I'd take the Batgirl series currently running and give the character blond hair - why is Barbara going to college when Steph was already doing that when they nipped her run in the bud? - and return Oracle to her all-important spot in the DCU, a DCU where The Killing Joke never happened, but she still broke her back. And then I'd weep anyway because I hadn't done enough, like find a spot for Wally West who, I admit, was a little broken after Infinite Crisis and all that. Oh screw it, he's back, and it's all about Speed Force, all the speedsters are.

And because I'm a little crazy, I'd bring the Tangent Flash into the DCU. I love that character, and I don't care if the name is taken. Make her a Teen Titan, and make the Teen Titans more in the spirit of Becky's book. And her mom Celeste better have crossed over as well, and be acting as a kind of den mother to the Titans.

And one final wish: The Wildstorm universe loses badly, and none of the characters are ever seen in the DCU again. Boom. I went negative there for a second, and I'm not even sorry.

But let's say I give YOU the keys, where do you drive your Convergence truck?