Date: May 24 2012 1:40 PM Title: Chapter 1: ROMANCE REWRITTEN
Count me as _not_ one of the many (lol)!
Author's Response:
I'm enjoying watching you guys debate this.
Date: May 24 2012 12:57 AM Title: Chapter 1: ROMANCE REWRITTEN
Cary, Hypertime was introduced in "The Kingdom," not "Final Crisis." In any case, DC doesn't use it anymore (as many fans found it more confusing than the Multiverse).
Author's Response:
There's something I wouldn't have known.
Date: May 23 2012 4:57 PM Title: Chapter 1: ROMANCE REWRITTEN
Those 1970's B&B one-shots were featuring the Golden Age Batman, back in his prime. And, the Black Canary who fell for Green Arrow was the daughter of the Golden Ager. The former, however, had to partially mature, in stasis, in the void between Earths 1-and-2, because it was the Injustice Society's resident evil magician, the Wizard, who cursed her with that hyper-sonic "canary cry!"
It was when the Golden Age B.C. lost her husband, private eye Larry Lance, that a switch occurred. While emigrating to Earth 1, some of the same extra-terrestrial radiation that had killed Larry began to have the same (if slower-acting) effect on her. So, it was arranged by Dr. Fate that Larry and Dinah Lance (Senior) would spend eternity together, in that same stasis bubble. While Dinah (Jr.) was taken to the rest of the way to Earth-1...with some of her mother's memories hypno-telepathically transferred into her mind! I'm not sure, though, if Dinah Junior's body was age-accelerated or not.
As for post-COIE continuity? It was more or less worsened by a tenth-anniversary limited series called ZERO HOUR. Ten years after that, though, it got straightened out by the so-called FINAL CRISIS, which introduced the concept of "Hyper-time universes" (or "hyper-verse," for short).
Unfortunately, DC decided to use that as the springboard for "52." Which led to a miserable repetition of past history!
Author's Response:
Final Crisis, eh? Sounds interesting. Yes I did catch Zero Hour, I must admit.
At last I finally understand the Black Canarys. The daughter's body on earth-1 with some of the mother's memories, dating Green Arrow-1.
Very grateful for that explanation. I could never understand that story in JLA early 1980s.
I never read the 52 comics, but the text novel seemed heavily focussed on a disfunctional marriage between Isis and Black Adam. Now Pixis' review's got me interested in the New 52. I'll have to look into that and Final Crisis.
I was more concerned with rewriting a number of pre-crisis Legion tragedies out of existence in this story, but thought I might as well blame Time Trapper for the Crisis and undo that as well, when I created Chronelle.
One thing I'm glad of in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Smallville, is that, although JSA & modern heroes both exist on same earth, there are parallel worlds out there, which let us meet different versions of Superman, Batman etc.
Date: May 23 2012 4:56 PM Title: Chapter 1: ROMANCE REWRITTEN
I can catch you up on recent events at DC. In the miniseries "52," it was revealed that Alex Luthor's actions in "Infinite Crisis" had restored the Multiverse. However, it was a limited Multiverse of only 52 worlds. (There is indeed a text novel of "52" but I haven't read it.)
DC used this new Multiverse for a while but they are now in the middle of a line-wide reboot. In the "Flashpoint" miniseries, Zoom altered the timestream and the Flash had to restore it--only things are not quite as they once were. DC relaunched all their series as part of "The New 52" event. There's a compressed timeline where heroes first appeared five years ago, some have new origins, some are MIA, and the JSA is back on Earth-2 (with updated, present-day origins). Whether any other Earths exist is unclear.
As far as the Multiverse goes, I have a different opinion than you guys. I grew up with the single DC Universe and prefer it that way. I don't mind parallel universe stories but I dislike how the Multiverse segregates DC's characters. To me, it's far more interesting for the JSA to be the first generation of heroes, inspiring those who come after, than for them to be in an alternate universe. And I like DC having a diverse cast of characters in one world, instead of split between dozens of them.
None of this has anything to do with your story though. I'm not that familiar with the Legion but I'm sure we've all wished a character could alter the DCU and correct what we perceive as bad choices on the writers' part.
Author's Response:
I'm still glad you gave me all that info though. Very interesting. I like the way the JSA were the previous generation in Batman: The Brave and Bold and also in Smallville. You're right. It does have its appeal, and if you grew up without the multiverse, you don't have to miss it.
Thanks for reviewing.
[Report This]Date: May 22 2012 5:52 PM Title: Chapter 1: ROMANCE REWRITTEN
Very well researched, Tim! I especially loved the not-so-subtle jibe at DC for the rotten way they handled the original C.O.I.E. Not only for killing off the Silver Age Supergirl, like they did. But, also, for deciding to amalgamate the different parallel-Earths, in the first place!
I never had any trouble keeping track of them. In fact, the existence of a multiverse had finally gotten some validation in terms of real-world science, when I read a Sunday morning supplement that compared the Big Bang to a tea kettle coming to boil. The more it boiled, the more bubbles were conceivably generated. The "bubbles," of course, becoming parallel universes.
DC, however, took twenty years to correct this mistake. And, now, it appears they're ruining things, again!
Oh, well! Thanks for letting me vent. And, double-thank you for the opening chapter of this latest pastiche.
Author's Response:
loved that review. I'm a creationist myself, rather than a big banger, but for fictional entertainment, I agree with you that nothing beats the multiverse.
Having read nothing new since Infinite Crisis, can I ask you for a quick fill-in of what DC did "to correct this mistake"? I'd love to know, especially if there's a text novel adapting all the comics involved. I can shop around.
I think I was bold in choosing to leave mainstream Superboy in the future, averting the entire Superman 20th Cent continuity, but why not? (I never liked the pocket universe idea anyway).
DC's rationale was that if Barry Allen read Jay Garrick's identity in old Flash comics on earth-1, then readers of comics sold on earth-1 could work out the identity of characters with the same identities on both earths (eg Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent). They also thought the inconsistencies in Brave and Bold had Batman teaming with earth-2 characters in some 1970s issues, and had trouble explaining away Black Canary not being older than Green Arrow-1. (The JLA/JSA crossover with Johnny Thunder-1 only confused me more. Which Black Canary got left in limbo? The mother or the daughter? I read that story many times and never really understood it).
Still they could have found a better solution than wiping out infinty-minus-one universes.
As for my own story, I'd like to write in the late 1970s Sherman/Abel art era of Legion, which caught the 30th century at its best (the way they drew faces, cities, space etc). I'll have to see what I can come up with for new plot. So far all I've done is altered things that DC did. (Think I just vented lots more than you).