Comments | sapphirebreeze: Diversity Through Replacement in the DCU

sapphirebreeze

Diversity Through Replacement in the DCU

Jan 19, 2009 19:58

One of the things I've come to love about the DC comics universe is its generational aspect. That is, the way hero names and legacies get picked up and carried on from one generation to the next, a fact that doesn't always require the death of the previous name holder (see: multiple active Flashes, Wildcats, etc), although it usually calls for the ( Read more... )

question, comic books, dc

Comments 8

lord_reluctant January 20 2009, 01:32:18 UTC

You've got most of the ones I can think off. Only others I can think off are from the current run of Teen Titans: Bombshell, Miss Martian, Ravager and Speedy (Mia), gender replacements of Captain Atom, Martian Manhunter, Deathstroke and Speedy (Roy) repectively.

And is robotic white guy versus fleshy white guy sufficient to count as diversity? 'Cause then we can could include the third Hourman (the nanotech dude from DC One Million).

sapphirebreeze January 20 2009, 21:54:05 UTC

Are they all replacements, though? That's the tricky part about the gender switch issue, really. I didn't set out to cover female counterparts (otherwise, Supergirl and Batgirl would be on the list) - I tried to stick as much to clear replacements as I could.

That said, Speedy certainly does count. I'm a bit iffy about some of the others, though. Especially Miss Martian.

sapphirebreeze January 20 2009, 21:58:48 UTC

Oh, also, I really did deeply consider the third Hourman (or was he actually the second one?), but I talked it over with a friend, and she felt that androids that look like white guys shouldn't count. That's why Red Tornado is only up there as a reverse-case and not as a flesh-to-robotic case.

earthscorch January 20 2009, 04:37:22 UTC

The so-called 'legacy heroes' is one of the things I've thought of as part of DC's different flavor, in relation to Marvel. Of course, Marvel sort of did this by making lots of the Ultimate characters either no-longer-white or gay. Good read. :)

sapphirebreeze January 20 2009, 21:55:29 UTC

Marvel does the legacy thing from time to time, but yeah, it really is far more a DC thing, over all, and, as you said, part of the distinctive flavor between the two realities.

earthscorch January 21 2009, 04:48:12 UTC

Marvel's definitely been doing it more lately. Since about the mid-90's I think the distinctive flavor's been blurred a bit. Young Avengers made my head spin! Maybe it's because the old hands were retiring and people drifting between companies is a lot more frequent than it used to be. Of course I don't count preserving copyrights (Captain Marvel III, etc.) as legacy heroes, which sortens the list a lot! ;)

knave_iespyk January 20 2009, 05:01:59 UTC

Very interesting reading. I wonder, does Steel almost count for Superman? Probably not, but still...

sapphirebreeze January 20 2009, 21:57:12 UTC

You know what? I had intended to include Steel on the list as at least an honorable mention, and I forgot! He was a replacement when he was first introduced, after all, and the fact that he still wears the big "S" when he wears a suit at all anymore shows pretty clearly that he still follows the Superman legacy. It may not count fully, but it's a case of "Close enough for an honorable mention."

Thanks for reminding me!