Is DC Comics Sending Fans an "All In" Ultimatum?
In entertainment today, there's a lot of discourse on "messaging" from creators/ entertainment companies to fans. There's no need to belabor or prove this point, we know it's happening either intentionally or unintentionally. You will see phrases like "SJW," "DEI," and "Virtue Signaling." There's always been a social/ political consciousness to entertainment It's not new, it usually just depends on how it's done as to whether it's actually good or not. However, this type of messaging is not the subject today. Shazam! #20
As DC Comics continues to publish under the All In initiative, something may have become apparent with the publication of Shazam! #20. This issue features a de-aged Jon Kent who is desperate to get back to his adult self. The official synopsis reads: JONATHAN KENT, son of Superman, is in Philly when something funny happens in the Rock of Eternity. Jon is caught in the lightning and transforms...back into a little boy?! While Jon gets a second chance at childhood, Billy better figure out how to get the grown super son back before the world misses him!
The issue ends up feeling like a purposeful message on DC's part to tell fans of young Jon Kent that the aged up Jon Kent is better, and to sort of...get over it. It's not hard to find dissatisfaction with the seeming message of this issue when looking on social media or site like League of Comic Geeks. My own impressions showed up in this week's DC Comics Quick Takes: "Jon Kent hasn’t been relevant since Brian Michael Bendis aged him up in Superman #6 (2018). He’s unable to carry his own series, and has become a tag-a-long character with the Super-family. With that move, Bendis eliminated all the potential for stories of Superman and Lois raising their biological son, an idea that was unique, different and fresh for the Superman franchise. In addition, he had Jon unbelievably pass through puberty and those important formative years without any guidance and produced a Jon Kent with perfect morality and a social conscience. Shazam! #20 serves both in story and in a meta way to reinforce the fact that not only will we never get a young Jon Kent, but that the sole reason for his existence is LGBTQ+ representation, and token representation at that. Real representation comes from characters care about because they are great characters and just HAPPEN to also be inclusive. Michael Holt Mr. Terrific and Kate Kane Batwoman jump immediately to mind. After the reader is drawn in by the compelling aspects of these characters the reader realizes, “oh, this really awesome character is black/lesbian/hispanic/asian…whatever.” Jon Kent’s appearances have devolved into niche romance fiction. He has no purpose any longer. He’s not Superman and he’s not Superboy, he’s just redundant and useless. This is obviously a fill in issue and an issue designed to stick it to fans of Jon Kent and the Super-Sons." Is this really what DC is telling the fans? Are they telling fans of a young Jon Kent and the Super-Sons that it's over and to just suck it up? Damian Wayne even echoes the sentiment IN the issue as seen in the image below:
It all has a strong feeling of messaging the audience, a story intended to be more about the fans' opinion than anything else. Maybe I'm Crazy It's easy to think that maybe I'm just taking it too seriously that it's just supposed to be a fun story. However, when one takes it in conjunction with the April Solicit for Power Girl #20, it begins to look like DC is trying to create "in story" messages to shut down fans who are critical of unpopular directions for characters. DC launched the All In initiative back in the Fall with the notion that creators are giving their all- “ALL IN is designed as a line-wide jumping-on point,” says Snyder, returning to DC for the first time in four years to join the initiative. “Every book will start a new epic story over the course of the fall: all the books in the main DC Universe, and a whole new line of daring reinventions called the Absolute Universe. DC will have every kind of superhero story you could want: blockbuster, wild, personal, daring, everything, all of it connected by a mega-story that starts in DC All In Special #1.” This definitely makes it sound like DC is wholly behind the initiative and they are really going for it come hell or highwater, because they are putting all their eggs in the All In basket. Not surprising that DC would feel that way, but for it to work, fans have to be "All In" as well, right? So what does a company do when there are takes on characters that receive highly critical and negative reaction? Push back even harder...with stories designed to cement the "All In" mindset of the company and the direction for these characters they're determined to push...no matter what. Power Girl #20 From the first appearance of Power Girl under the pen of Leah Williams, there's been negative reaction. Check out Reddit, League of Comics Geeks (again). If there were any title that needed a new writer with the All In initiative it was Power Girl. Williams took a character who was confident, competent, independent, strong willed and focused into a character who is unsure of herself, insecure, DEPENDENT, weak willed and directionless. Now why would Power Girl fans not like that? Seems pretty straight forward. The writing is inconsistent, doesn't acknowledge the substance of her established history and even presented a character who was depicted completely differently in the contemporary Justice Society series. You'd get Williams' Power Girl in her solo title, and the traditionally established Power Girl in Justice Society of America. Editorial was clearly asleep in coordinating these books, outside the costume change. She was still Karen Starr in Justice Society of America despite being the awful, "Paige Stetler" in Williams' Power Girl. Power Girl needs some help!
It's not like Power Girl under Leah Williams is selling exceedingly well, ICv2 has Power Girl #15 (November issue) at 179 in sales ranking and #16 (December issue) outside the top 200. This is a drop from the already low ranking of issue #14 at 124, the first All In issue which was up from September's issue #13 which was unranked. It didn't take the book long to drop out of the top 200 again. What's the point of continuing to publish a title that sells this low? It only really makes sense if DC is trying to get this version of the character over and make her THE version. Power Girl #20 seems poised to do that in story. April's solicit reads: “Karen Starr has triumphantly returned to Metropolis. But there’s a problem…the person using that alias isn’t Power Girl! Paige can’t just stand by as this new Karen gets involved in ventures and schemes she would never dream of. It’s up to her to expose this imposter before they ruin her reputation for good!”
Sure sounds like DC wants to solidify "Paige Stetler" and this characterization of Power Girl as the "one, true, Power Girl," and get fans to stop talking about Karen Starr as the real Power Girl. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. All In or "All Out" If this is what's happening, then it's another example of creators/ entertainment companies not listening to fans and actually being combative with them to show them how the are wrong. It gives the impression that DC doesn't need these fans, or that they think fans will keep buying just because.... If this were just a single comic that were doing such a story, I'd think that I was probably overthinking things. However, since there are two so far it really feels like DC is telling fans they need to be "All In" on what's being published and the iterations of characters that fans like just don't exist anymore. Oh, and why issue #20? Read the full article