Okay, so the final issue of Brightest Day may have appeared in stores this week, but the stories are far from over. We already know about two titles spinning off from the series – Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search For Swamp Thing and Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado’s new Aquaman title – but what about the other central characters in the series? Don’t they deserve some kind of spin-off as well? Spoilers for those who haven’t picked up Brightest Day #24 yet…89 Days And Counting…
The most obvious dangling plot thread is the new countdown before Firestorm “detonates.” Coming from out of nowhere (The Anti-Monitor changed Firestorm somehow, and started a chain reaction that only gives him 90 days to live? And that just gets mentioned in the last issue?), there’s no way that this new plot isn’t a set-up for something already planned to follow up, but where? The solicitation for a Firestorm: The Nuclear Man trade in July tends to suggest we might get a new Firestorm series to accompany the new Aquaman series – but who’s the creative team?
Prediction: New solo series to debut before the end of the year.
Hawkman And… Hawkwind?
Firstly, Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi: That was really rather unnecessary, keeping Shiera in her air elemental form (Or is she meant to be dead now? I couldn’t quite tell. If she is dead, then, man, you guys. Come on, give the guy a break). Can’t you just let Carter be happy for a little while? This, admittedly, isn’t a plot that needs an immediate follow on, but I can’t believe that this newly tragic (again) hero is going to disappear into obscurity after regaining his heartbroken angry bird status. A return to the Justice Society (or Justice League) in the future, perhaps…?
Prediction: A lead role in a team book before too long, probably accompanied by a new love interest, even though he won’t necessarily realize that for awhile.
Boston Brand, Re-RIP
Well, Deadman seems to have a whole new mission, even if he doesn’t want it. “The people on this planet who have given up on life still need your help,” says the White Lantern, so is Boston now officially the ghost who’ll help people embrace life? That’s a potentially interesting new hook for the character, but not one that would necessarily help it succeed in the direct market – However, if you’re looking for a good way to make the character into a mainstream television series, it’s kind of ABC-friendly, don’t you think? Hmm…
Prediction: The occasional guest-shot, perhaps a mini-series, but Boston’s had his day in the sun for now, I suspect.
Poor J’Onn J’Onzz
Of all the central Brightest Day characters, J’Onn’s the one that gets the closest thing to closure in the final issue. I’d complain that he doesn’t have any mysteries or cliffhangers left to solve, but isn’t that kind of J’Onn’s thing, to be the stable influence in the background? Always the plot bridesmaid, never the plot bride (Although, considering his Brave New World-era mini-series, that might be for the best)…
Prediction: If anyone at DC has any sense, he should get back to the Justice League as soon as possible. Didn’t anyone learn from Grant Morrison’s example?
April 29th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
There is a new JLI book coming. I for one would welcome J’Onn.
April 29th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Here’s an idea – now that Hawkgirl/Sheira is an air elemental and the whole reincarnation curse is broken, wouldn’t it be funny if she time-shared Red Tornado’s android body.
Think of the dilemma that would put Hawkman in.
April 29th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
What about Hawk? He is the only one who doesn’t get his “life” back. I know he is in BOP, but it seems like he has as big of a loose end as anyone else.
April 29th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
I thought overall it was a limp ending for what was shaping up to be a really good series. If they tell me Swamp Thing was planned from the start, I guess I’d believe ‘em, but I don’t know. That really seemed tacked on. The Hawkman thing was a real downer. At least let the guy get his rocks off. He’s been strung along since Blackest Night and now this? That’s just mean.
April 29th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Neil Gaiman and Teddy Kristiansen’ DEADMAN story (” Stairs”) is one of the beautifulest story I ‘ve ever seen and read (in Kristiansen ‘ SOLO issue)and the character had already this status of a kinda mediator between the living and the dead..His new mission has something from ” The high cost of living” but why not..I’m sure DC could provide better than the ABC-friendly thing you’re talking about..IF ONLY THEY HAVE THE GUTS TO BRING BACK SOME ARTISTS LIKE KRISTIANSEN, Mc CARTHY, HEMPEL, VAN FLEET, PRATT and Mc KEEVER, DEADMAN could become a very interesting -and experimental book- without being a Vertigo book necessarily..
April 29th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
i wanna know what the JSA is gonna do about Hawk…since he did ya’ know…KILL like all of them in a single panal (albiet as Extant)….forgive and forget? i sure as hell hope not! i hope sexually frustrated Hawkman puts a bird-on-bird beatdown on his ass!
April 29th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
I have a long-standing aversion to team books. Just don’t like the group dynamics that so many other fans enjoy. I like seeing my loner heroes, up against it, being resourceful and competent, and doing the job. So I’ll look for Hawkman however he might be served up–J’onn J’onzz too. But I’d rather not the team business. It’ll never happen, but I’d be *over the Moon!* if DC would give them their own book–half one, half the other!
April 29th, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Brightest Day was as much about setting up new character status-quos as it was about the story itself.
I actually liked the ending however since I saw the elemental thing coming a mile off knowing enough Swamp Thing history to guess he would be involved in some way with the forest.
Anyway, In the case of J’onn, he’l likely join either the JLA or JLI, and for Firestorm, I would guess a mini-series.
Not sure whats up with the Hawks, and for Deadman I prefer him as a horror character but I have no idea whats planned for him so its wait and see.
April 29th, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Martian to a JL team.
Hawkman solo and a possible rejoining the JSA
Firestorm solo, maybe a JL team..
Aquaman solo, maybe a JL Team.
Hawk and Dove, birds of prey
Deadman guest spots
April 29th, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Really another weak mega series from Johns. Aquaman, fine. I want a new series and I’m sure he won’t blow that. Hawkwoman gone! Why! How! The whole section with the Hawks was terrible anyway. Braindead. It’s time to separate the Hawkmen and end the nonsense. Deadman and Dove was weak to begin with and nothing was going to happen with Deadman anyway as he was handled wrong to begin with. Hawk back is nice but the drama with him, Dove etc was dumb. Manhunter belongs with the JLA and will be along with Aquaman in the original seven series ( that’s right ). Firestorm doesn’t matter much to me but if you people want him he looks headed to a series. So really, what was this all about. Answer, Swamp Thing etc back in the DC universe. Awful.
April 29th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
I’d like to see Deadman in Birds of Prey with Hawk and Dove. His power set meshes nicely with the team’s missions, he and Dove can continue their hear-but-not-touch relationship. Plus with Dove taken, Hawk would be free to hook up with one of the other Birds.
April 29th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
There’s already been slips of the tongue that point to a new Hawkman book written by James Robinson.
I’m keen to know what the new Status Quo for Swamp Thing is. Which of the adventures from his past books are in continuity?
And while everyone’s so happy that Swampy is back, they’ve missed something important This is not the Plant Elemental who had all those adventures in those books, it’s effectively a brand new character, one where Alec Holland IS Swamp Thing. They took the one thing that made Alan Moore’s first few issues of the book so amazing and innovative…and removed it.
They’ve brought us a green leafy Toxic Revenger. I am (so far) unimpressed.
April 29th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
Heh. Now every time I see Deadman in the comics I’m going to think of Sam Beckett. Que Quantum Leap Theme Music! The White Lantern as Al!
April 29th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
I read somewhere that Adventure Comics will stop being a second Legion book and become a home for the Brightest Day characters. But if Aquaman and Hawkman are getting their own books I’m not sure I would buy ‘Adventure’ just for Firestorm, Deadman and J’onn.
April 29th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
James Robinson let slip last year at a convention panel that he is writing a new Hawkman series. Bleeding Cool has reported that Philip Tan will be the artist.
April 29th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
We were promised that the series would resolve the issue of death in the DC universe in that, by its conclusion, dead characters would stay dead. Has this been confirmed?
April 30th, 2011 at 1:45 am
Good question. Actually, we were promised a resolution to the death issue as far back as BLACKEST NIGHT — which only led to BRIGHTEST DAY. Now that series is ended — and, in my opinion, nothing’s been answered.
April 30th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
It is obvious the JJ belongs with the JLA. But It’s also obvious that DC has absolutely no idea what the Justice League is about. They saw how successful Grant Morrison was with the book, and are determined that JLA be successful some other way.
They get the worst work out of the best people on JLA because DC editorial has made JLA the first stop in every crossover and gives the writers lineups consisting of heroes who have never had anything to do with the JLA before.
The Justice League is the greatest heroes facing the greatest challenges. Is that really so hard to execute?
April 30th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
not only will jonn proably be back with a new jla team but hawkman no doubt will either get another solo series or just be joining a team again and proably spend his off time trying to reunite and figure some way to get hawkgirl back since the reincarnation spell is broken other wise hawkman stuck back in limbo firestorm will sadly have his plot resolved off pannel and just mentioned.
April 30th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Since the white lantern said the hawks need to be apart I figured hawkgirl was just somewhere else alive. Hopefully j’onn joins the JLI. In the event Johns leave aquaman book like he did superboy maybe all the brightest day characters should take over adventure comics. I like the new JLA and with the JLI coming soon I think there should be multiple leagues the big 7 are all to busy to be together they should have like mini-series or seasons special occasions that bring them together
April 30th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
I’m thinking the martian manhunter is gonna join the JLI or start up another edition of his Justice league Detroit.
I was liking Aliveman better but he is probably gonna be regulated to guest star status in various books but he sould chill out with dove in Birds of prey or help constantine find swamp thing.
Firestorm is a miniseries that will happen if we are lucky and hopefully he becomes a Teen Titan or something.
Hawkman is gonna have his own series but i do want him to find someone else and give Hawkgirl a break.
April 30th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
I don’t think J’onn should join the new JLI. I think this new JLI works better WITHOUT any of the big guns. At best, maybe bring Guy Gardner back to Earth (and put John Stewart on OA with Kyle.) and add Wally West who isn’t really doing anything these days.
J’onn should go get Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, and Aquaman and a couple of others to form a new Justice League. Once Bats and WW’ storylines wrap up, this will be the first time since the early 80s that we’ll have this league together. Maybe add in a couple of other heroes for good measure. (FIrestorm, Vixen…)
May 1st, 2011 at 12:57 pm
I’m open to reading a new series on most all of the BD characters depending on the writing and art teams.
I’m already down for Aquaman and Firestorm seems like a pretty cool character(s). I’d love to read a Hawkman book, but if Robinson is on it, I won’t go anywhere near it.
May 1st, 2011 at 2:20 pm
There’s a series called “Blackest Night Aftermath”? I remember back when Brightest Day was announced and eveyone was making those cheesy jokes about “Blackest Night, Brightest day- what’s next, Grayest Twilight?!” But I never thought DC would actually make a “Grayest Twilight” series! How much demand can there really be for a lame tie-in to a lame tie-in to a crappy Geoff Johns crossover?
May 1st, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Hawkgirl and Deadman are in FLASHPOINT. There’s your opening.
May 1st, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Swamp Thing and John Constantine are back in the DC Universe, and this is reason to celebrate. These are two essential characters with rich histories in the DCU, and they have been noticeable by their absence of late (as in INFINITE CRISIS: DAY OF VENGEANCE and BLACKEST NIGHT). These are two characters that have much to contribute to the current status quo, and this longtime reader welcomes them back.
May 2nd, 2011 at 7:11 am
I dropped Brightest Day after the four issues. The story never really seemed to be going anywhere. Hawkman/Hawkwoman story was the one that really seemed to drive me off. That should have been a mini series on its own. One thing about DC they really know how to suck every bit of life out of a story. Blackest Night should have been the end of this whole nonsense.
May 2nd, 2011 at 8:17 am
Up until the whole Elementals/Swamp Thing thing, I loved Brightest Day. I found the Martian Manhunter segments particularly good, especially the amazing artwork, and I have always loved Firestorm as a concept. Deadman, not so much, but I liked the story in which he contacts his grandfather. There is much potential for him in a miniseries with Hawk and Dove.
But Aquaman has never bene my favorite, and it seems he is the one heading right into a new ongoing later this year.
What I want to see? I want J’onn to go to the JLA, elder statesman of the team that he is, and get that team on the right track again. They need some guidance. I like the lineup of Donna Troy, Grayson Batman, etc., but without any of the core characters. the big league of DC super-heroics, the team lacks credibility. The JSA retains Green Lantern, Flash, and Wildcat for a reason, they are the foundation upon which the team is built, so too must Justice League.
OK, so maybe Bruce and Diana are not available, but J’onn J’onzz should be now that he is alive again, and Firestorm, for all his youth, was a member of the team for a long time and knows a little something about how the team should work, and hey, Hawkman could do well there as well. JSA has too many members right now as it is.
I miss the days when JLA was more like the Justice League Unlimited version in the animated series. Essentially, a huge roster from all over the DC universe that would appear or not based on their availability or need.
May 2nd, 2011 at 9:05 am
I think we’re going to see three JL books coming out of Flashpoint/ Birghtest Day- a JLI book, Robinson’s next generation book, and a new Big Seven book.
May 2nd, 2011 at 10:48 am
Very disappointing ending, with so many unanswered questions and what I would describe as giant plot-holes.
So Max Lord didn’t serve any purpose other than being a 24 issue plot device to bring back the JLI? Couldn’t that have happened without him or in a four issues series?
Captain Boomerang only came back from the dead to be punched in the face?
Hmmm…. lots of hype, and not delivering. Doesn’t bode anything good for Flashpoint.
May 2nd, 2011 at 11:25 am
The current JLA roster is so weak, any of these characters would be welcome. So put J’onn, Hawkman, and Firestorm back in the JLA.
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May 7th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I think the Hawkman title was already rumored and confimed months ago and it was Robinson doing the writing chores. Count me as partially interested. Just glad to see a Hawk book out there even with the poor quality writer on it. Leave all suspension of disbelief a the door before reading. Or they could put the award-winning JT Krul on it. Never thought I’d see those words used together in a sentence in my lifetime.