Comments on: DCU Universe Legacies: Where History Lessons Are Anything But

By: Glenn Simpson

Glenn Simpson — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:10:35 +0000

I have less of a problem with the things that are being depicted differently than the original comics, because this is that post-Infinite Crisis “New Earth” history that could potentially be different in a lot of ways.

But I do have a huge problem with aging issue, as you describe with the Wonder Woman example. I thought the official DC position was that the time between the retirement of the JSA (set in the 1950s) and Superman’s intro (set on a sliding timeline) was just getting longer and longer (which causes some problems due to the kids of the JSA being on the sliding timeline). But according to this series, in general, Superman still launched about 10 years after the JSA retired, and as you point out, for some reason nobody is getting significantly older (except, oddly enough, the narrator and his family).

By: Deco

Deco — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:19:09 +0000

it’s all that superboy hypertime wall-punching or the legacy of darkseid’s advent. reality in the DC universe is broken and fluid. bad as it is for us imagine how bad it is for anybody living in it

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:23:14 +0000

I gave up after issue 4. It wasn’t particularly the crap continuity that stopped me but the fact that there was nothing going on. No drama was created from recapping some of the most exciting times in DC’s 75 year history. It’s a real shame as I was pegging this to be an absolutely stunning series before it started.

By: Digit

Digit — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:57:28 +0000

At the time the Charlton heroes appeared in Legacies, I was surprised because I thought Thunderbolt’s rights had reverted back to its creator’s estate.

Might have missed it, but -when- did DC get the rights to use Thunderbolt again?

By: Shawn Kane

Shawn Kane — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:18:23 +0000

This is the problem with making continuity work. I like the new Captain America: Man Out of Time mini but it contradicts much of what has gone on in Cap’s career because you have to throw out alot of stories that were contemporary in their time. If we just use the sliding timeline theory and not actually have to put the histories of these imaginary worlds on paper it would be less confusing IMO.

By: Alan Kistler

Alan Kistler — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:32:03 +0000

TODD R: I’m pretty sure most people at DC don’t know who I am. That being said, I would LOVE to write a series like this. Though I probably would’ve started earlier with stories of how the New Gods visited Earth and gave us our first superhero Aurakles, just before the Immortal Man and Vandal Savage got their immortality. And it might be more interesting to have each chapter told from a different hero or villain’s personal journal. Too much?

Perhaps one day I could do such a series. In the meantime, I suppose I could just make a couple of blog posts reviewing the history of the DCU as I see it. Depends on if you readers would care for such a piece.

By: DanielT

DanielT — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:22:49 +0000

I don’t know how it was depicted exactly in Legacies, but Wally mostly certainly did participate in COIE as Kid Flash. He comes out of retirement in issue #9 and is in the rest of the series.

By: Todd R

Todd R — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:08:52 +0000

Why didn’t thy have you write it, Alan?

By: Paul Allen

Paul Allen — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:24:31 +0000

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote here. Trying to condense decades of storylines into a coherent realistic timeline is a noble but impossible cause. To its credit, the series has been very pretty to look at.

But the newest issue, #9? Did we really need a whole issue devoted just retelling the events of Final Night and Day of Judgment? I don’t think so.

By: Terence

Terence — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:32:02 +0000

I enjoyed the first few issues well enough, but as soon as the timeline hit the ‘Silver Age’ the continuity started grating and I gave up. Made me even more sure to never again invest my time and money in re-tellings, Year Ones, or Secret Origins. History happened as it did in the original comics, and they still exist. These rewritten histories never last.

By: Rich

Rich — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:18:12 +0000

Chalk it up to narrator Paul being full of crap,or having a failing memory.

Read the first few issues of this and liked it well enough despite it causing more problems than it solved.

I do like the idea of Western TV shows starring the original DC Western characters, though. Not too much different from there being Penny Dreadfuls printed about Billy the Kid and the like when he was actually alive.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:57:21 +0000

Here’s some others:

Kid Flash shown participating in the COIE as Kid Flash. He was retired at the time.

Red Tornado shown participating in COIE. He was a prisoner of the Anti-Monitor for the entire series.

Arthur Jr’s death at the hands of Black Manta, having occurred in the 70′s being referenced as having occurred during the 90′s Dark Era for heroes & villains.

I really would have loved this series if it had been done with more authenticity and perspective but I dropped it way back.