Did the New 52 Create Anything That You Love? READ OP

I'm of the opinion that the New 52 added almost nothing of value to DC other than a brief influx of money, so let me pose a question, is there anything in the New 52 that you truly, deeply love? By this, I mean is there anything that could have only existed in the New 52 that you loved. A lot of people like Snyder's work on Batman, but there's virtually nothing important in that entire run that couldn't have happened in pre-52 continuity. People like some of the oddball stuff like Demon Knights, but again, why couldn't this have taken place in pre-52 continuity? Is there a single thing of value in the New 52 that couldn't have been created in the pre-52 with a small recon or a bridging story?

Is there a single thing that only worked because of the New 52 that anybody loved?

Out of all the suggestions I’ve seen so far, these are the only plot elements that people enjoyed that were made possible because of the reboot, and many people would dislike many of these changes.

@batwatch: Jeff Lemire's Animal Man run, not sure what exactly he was like before the New 52, but it did seem like he benefited from the freedom.

Batgirl can walk again?

Dick as a spy?

Lex Luthor being part of the JL. (This one couldn't have happened in the pre-new 52 due to the extensive history he has)

Lemires green arrow is my fav run on the character. The court of owls is one of my fav batman stories. I prefer everything with dick Grayson post flashpoint (although his batman era stuff is also great). Aquaman is infinitely better now. David zavimbes batwing, I vampire and demon knights were good c list series. Tons of the niche DC You was very good.

It's hard to say how much of that could of existed pre flashpoint. I definitely think green arrow and aquaman couldn't have.

Some people will vehemently disagree but the deemphasis of legacy was kinda nice. Pre flashpoint there's a flash family, arrow family, Shazam family, bat family, super family, wonder family etc. It made every series feel the same.

Aquaman, Swamp Thing, and Animal Man.!

It made me get into Superman.

Aquaman Aquaman Aquaman

there's been some improvements

I'm not up on Aniimal Man either, so I couldnt' say.

Babs walking again could have easily been done with an in universe story line. Hell, with all the tech of the DC universe, it's a bit perplexing that someone with Barbara's connections wouldn't have been cured already.

Dick as a spy could have easily been done in the pre-52 universe.

LL in JL probably did work better in the New 52, but comic book villains do have a tendency of going from worst people on the planet to socially accepted. It happened plenty of times in the pre-52, and Avengers is full of villains turned heroes.

What was it in Arrow and Aquaman that required the reboot? I've read little of either series in the New 52.

What did the New 52 change about Aquaman?

Cyborg added to the original JL is a major change, so that one stands though most people seem to dislike it.

I don't know about the Uxas stuff.

What did the reboot change about Aquaman and Animal Man?

I know Swamp Thing brought back Alec Holland, but I thought the previous Swamp Thing had already existed in the New 52. I've read very little New 52 Swamp Thing? Am I mistaken?

Couldn't any good Superman story have done the same?

Boy, we have a winner on most improved series, but the question remains, what crucial element of Aquaman was changed in the New 52 that couldn't have been changed in a pre-52 story?

@batwatch:

LL as a good guy wouldn't have worked with pre-new 52 because everyone knows he's a bad guy. There aren't any doubts about it. Even if he had saved the world they wouldn't have allowed him to join the JL.

Wonder Woman. I know that some people don't like the changes made to her and the Amazons, but I actually enjoyed them for the most part. (The sailor killing was a bit much I'll admit)

I will say that I might be a bit biased though, I started reading comics regularly when the New 52 started, so take that as you will.

Like I said, I agree it wouldn't have worked as well, but remember all the times Magneto tried to kill all humans and then the time (or is it multiple times?) he joined the X-Men? Comics are not always the most logical things on the planet.

Yeah, the complete attitude shift of the Amazons was something that could only have been established in the pre-52 via major retcon, so I'll give you that. On the other hand, I think the rest of the New 52 WW series could have been done without major retconning. Sure, Diana's lineage was new, but these sorts of new revelations that discard old stories happen all the time in comics, so it could have happened in universe.

Batman's new 52 run has been great.

Batman Eternal was amazing.

Dick Grayson as Agent 37 is awesome.

batman court of owls story/tie ins was amazing

Midnighter

Aquaman

Grayson

Martian Manhunter solo

@batwatch: All Star didn't do it.And that's considered the best Superman story ever. Nor would have Birthright or Secret Origins. While I can enjoy those stories and see why they are beloved, they didn't do anything for me. But, I think Grant's Action Comics run was the first time I truly liked the character and got the bigger pictures. For me atleast, you need to get me to like the character first and then I can appreciate the icon second. I enjoy getting to know and grow with the character. I prefer the Farmboy over the boy scout personality trait, and as someone who actually grew up on a farmlands, New 52 and Greg Pak's sun was the first time it felt like I could actually know someone like Clark.

Aquaman run from Geoff Johns

Justice League run from Geoff Johns

Wonder Woman run from Brian Azzarello

Gotham Academy

Harley Quinn run + specials with Conner and Palmiotti

Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead event

Sinestro run from Cullen Bunn

New character Bunker in Teen Titans (literally the only thing to happen to TT n52. He needs to stay)

Even though the new 52 stuff featuring characters I loved most was mostly unreadable (Superman, Superboy, Teen Titans...) I'm still happy that I could discover new favorites in Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and a few others. I probably wouldn't have given them a chance if it weren't for the renumbering.

Kyle Rayner, made Aquaman pretty BA as well

@batwatch: With Green Arrow they pretty much did an entirely new backstory. Shado, the island and his father all had very different roles.

Aquaman was showing his rise to the throne, which wouldn't have worked with prior continuity, since all of that had already happened. He starts completely isolated from Atlantis.

In all honesty the only characters I found that did much better in the New 52 were Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Both of them have been consistently great. Animal Man was good too, but he was never a favorite of mine so I didn't care. As for every thing else it was either hit & miss (JLA, Justice League, Superman, etc) or absolute shit (Red Hood:ATO, Teen Titans, Static, etc.).

That being said there were (a few) new 52 character designs that looked great compared to their previous counterparts. Martian Manhunter's is by far my favorite. I mean seriously just look at this:

THAT is a Martian Manhunter that nobody would mess with.

I haven't read Batman Eternal, but Snyder's work and Grayson could have easily happened in pre-52.

Again, that story could have been told in pre-52.

From what I understand, Aquaman and Grayson didn't need a reboot to tell their stories. Did Martian Manhunter and Midnighter benefit from a clean slate? I know Midnighter's relationship with Apollo was retconned. Do you feel that added to the power of the story?

I didn't care for All-Star Superman either.

I don't deny that Morrison's Superman story was great. My question is was it only possible because of the reboot? I think they killed off Pa Kent in that story line, so I guess if that to you was a necessary addition to Superman's character, then you can make a case for the reboot being necessary.

As best as I can tell, none of those titles required a reboot to tell their stories. Couldn't they have all been told easily without the reboot?

Either of those characters require the reboot to tell their stories? Couldn't they have both had series without the reboot?

That's awesome, but all this goes to support my argument that the New 52 was mostly unnecessary. They could have given Johns a new Aquaman series, and he would have raised the profile of the character simply by working on him.

Gotcha. I haven't read those stories, so I'll just have to take your word for it.

I've never given it much thought, but you are right. It is a good redesign.

Still, I'm not seeing anything that required the reboot in this list.

I didn't really care for Arkham War, but regardless, it didn't require a reboot to tell the story.

@batwatch: I agree nothing in the new 52 required the reboot, these were just the things that I managed to enjoy about it.

Action Comics by Grant Morrison.

@batwatch: To my understanding the pre 52 swamp thing did exist and was running around doing god knows what until Alec accepted his fate

A lot actually. Between Aquaman, the upgrades the rouges got as characters and powers. A lot of the events have been good. We is also better then she has been in years

I thoroughly enjoyed Earth-2, at least until they started including it in event tie-ins. Then it began its slow decline into mediocrity, but when it was good, I thought it was really up there.

And I was a big JSA fan before the reboot too. Jade and Obsidian in particular were sorely missed.

Well I guess Azzarello's Wonder Woman, Morrison's Action Comics, Williams' Martian Manhunter and Aquaman's greater importance are some of the positive things I like about the New 52's creations. But as the OP said, most of these stories didn't need the New 52 to be told as a DC Comics story, they could have been written without the need for the reboot. Honestly the good stuff of the New 52 didn't need the New 52 DCU in the first place.

Lemire's Green Arrow, AQUAMAN, Snyder's Batman, and Glass' short run with the Suicide Squad was pretty good IMO.

There's tons of stuff I like about the New 52. Lemire's Green Arrow, Aquaman, Grayson, Snyder's Batman stories. But pretty much all that could have been told with pre New 52 continuity.

The only thing I like that couldn't be told is Earth 2.

Snyder's Batman, Lemire's GA, John's Aquaman & JL (only Darkseid War and Throne of Atlantis), Forever Evil, Pete Tomasi on Batman & Robin, Buccelatto & Manapul on Flash...

It definitely wasn't perfect, but New 52 did have some outstanding series. But yeah, a lot of this could have easily happened in Pre-52.

I loved Snyder's Batman from what I read of it so far (I'm reading it through trades), but it really hasn't added anything. It's great for it's own continuity, and it works really well for new readers so they don't have to weed through a lot of filler and a huge (not to mention costly) mythology. If his run continued after Morrison's it would have felt like a weak re-tread, but since it is its own thing, I love it.

I'm not a fan of the New 52 because of some creative decisions. Wally West is my second favorite DC character and I stopped reading the Flash as soon as their new version was introduced. Just call the kid someone else. I really liked Azz's Wonder Woman, but I didn't like new origin at all. A lot of the New 52 was a mess.

Aquaman but that could have been done pre 52.

Of course, created lots of stuff I love, a good majority of which could only have been done with a new continuity

Just like Post Crisis, things needed a bit of a change (not that every change was good)

I only liked about it only Superman's Suit was changed and it was cool lol

@batwatch:

I actually kind of like the fact that a lot of New 52 stuff could've happened pre-Flashpoint. It's not like COIE which destroyed the multiverse.

With the New 52 you could have stuff like the Multiversity and Johns' continued run on Green Lantern while also mixing some stuff up.

For example I really liked Justice League 3000.

Yep