My contribution to our Anniversary Week looks back at the first three Grumpy Old Fan posts. I couldn’t decide which was the “official” first one. I did two items related to DC news out of WizardWorld Philly before the column settled into its regular Thursday slot.

First was a prediction about the new Justice Society’s membership, based on the time-tested “photo-strewn table” method. (That technically isn’t part of our anniversary, since it appeared in The Great Curve’s final hours.) Second, on our first day, was “The Postponed Death of Dick Grayson,” reacting to the news that (gasp!) Dan DiDio wanted Nightwing offed as part of Infinite Crisis. Finally, on June 8, 2006, the first Thursday Grumpy Old Fan thought Wonder Woman vol. 3, with Donna Troy as the putative headliner, was off to a good start. Pretty typical stuff, considering that the end of Infinite Crisis was still pretty fresh, and convention season was underway.

These items are typical too, of course, in that they all deal with “updated” versions of venerable DC properties. Updates are DC’s bread and butter, and have been for at least the past fifty years. The current Justice Society’s main innovation seems to be openly acknowledging the active cultivation of legacies, as opposed to just accepting any old character who happens to share a Golden Age name. I take such a maneuver to be the ultimate admission that DC no longer feels guilty — assuming it ever did — about farming for successors.

That also helps put the other two post topics in perspective. Dan DiDio figured Dick Grayson was worth more to DC dead, even with Batman recovering from Stephanie Brown’s death and Dr. Leslie Thompkins’s betrayal. In that respect Nightwing’s death would have seemed like a morbid “one for the road” before DC got back on the no-killing wagon. Donna turned out to be a plot device too, but at least she was assured of surviving.

I still think the idea of killing Nightwing reveals a lack of imagination. I mean, come on: DC might not need him to be the kinder, gentler Batman, given what Grant Morrison and Paul Dini are doing, but surely it can find some use for the first kid he trained. Bringing back Marv Wolfman, who helped Dick “graduate,” was a good step. Marv’s run has been decent, starting with a fairly generic evil-corporation story, but picking up steam with a more entertaining immortal-serial-killer-couple tale.  The latest issue, which begins an arc which flashes back to the Robin days, is definitely Marv’s best so far.  The book has also been helped by the additions of penciller Jamal Igle and inker Keith Champagne, who combine for a dynamic, fluid style which is well-suited to the character.

However, the problem with Dick Grayson generally is that he’s pretty much always been part of a team — with Batman first, then with the Titans, and now with the Outsiders — so one can’t expect him to be completely independent. As much as I hate to say a fictional character shouldn’t transcend his origins, it seems to me that Dick’s connections have always been important. DC needs to embrace Dick’s advantages, and stop trying to deny his position in its shared universe. After all, that’s what it did with the Justice Society.

Likewise, last year I was intrigued by Donna’s new Wonder Woman career. I didn’t think it would last long, but considering the book’s misfortunes it’s a shame she didn’t get more action behind the breastplate. After being killed in 2003, revived with much fanfare in 2005, and relegated to Exposition Lass for the first few months of 52, the Wonder Woman gig finally allowed Donna literally to justify her existence. That only lasted a couple of issues, though, before she needed to be rescued by Diana. On top of that, problems with Wonder Woman’s shipping schedule apparently forced Donna out of a more meaningful role in 52. Exposition Lass popped up again in Ion, but it wasn’t until last week’s Amazons Attack #2 that I thought she was used well. Lord willing, Countdown will give her something decent to do.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Dick and Donna both belong to DC’s third superhero generation. Of the four generations, this one can’t clearly be mapped to Yesterday, Today, or Tomorrow. Accordingly, it’s populated with “used to be” characters: Robin/Nightwing, Wonder Girl/Troia, Aqualad/Tempest, etc. No longer sidekicks, but not quite A-listers, their development has been arrested.  More than the other generations, their development has paced their fans’ aging.  While this makes them more flexible in terms of storytelling possibilities, it also makes their long-term goals more nebulous, and therefore harder to fit into the bigger picture.  These characters therefore risk becoming their own clique, appealing only to the fans who grew up alongside them.

I’ve said before that DC apparently views permanently succeeding one’s mentor as a sidekick’s highest aspiration, but outside of Wally West (also in limbo now) and arguably Red Arrow, the original Teen Titans have practically been promoted out of stable jobs.  The fact that new faces have filled their old sidekick names further limits their exposure. Their Silver and Bronze Age histories make them interesting (at least to some), but the lack of name recognition makes them a lot harder to market, and therefore harder to get into those histories. If you’ve ever had to explain “Nightwing” to the parent of a kid with Batman and Robin action figures, you know what I mean.

(I mention Dick and Donna in the context of the original Teen Titans because it seems to me that the original members of Infinity, Inc. haven’t had as much difficulty finding their places in the current DC lineup.  They’re third-generation heroes, and many of them have been “promoted” to the Justice League and/or Justice Society, but they were never created to be sidekicks, and they’ve always been associated with one team or another.)

Again, these characters were created to be somewhat dependent, so they’ll always be associated with Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, etc. However, taking away that dependency means creating a new justification for the character’s existence. Dick went from being Batman’s partner to the full-time Titans leader, and is now the Outsiders’ leader. Donna got a couple of new origins, even spending some time as a Darkstar space-cop. In fact, all the continuity gymnastics involved in maintaining Donna’s viability ended up making her own history horribly convoluted. Of course, that affects her marketability: Donna might be just “Wonder Woman’s sister” now, but it wasn’t always that simple.

Updating the Justice Society is comparatively easy: identify a group of characters with Golden Age names and/or ties, stir well, and serve. Nightwing and Troia raise the different issue of accommodation. DC has an interest in maintaining these characters, marginalized though they may be, so it accommodates them (and their fans) by trying to find niches for them. Countdown even uses the third-generation folks’ aimlessness (”Why is Nightwing still alive?”) as a plot point. That at least gives me hope that I probably won’t be blogging about these issues this time next year.

Speaking of which, thanks for reading — it’s been a great 52! 

See you next Thursday!

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