DC Comics November 2019 Solicitation Analysis

Things are going to be getting intense throughout the DC Universe in November. For one thing we are going to see the characters Batman Who Laughs infected, Supergirl, Shazam and Blue Beetle, new status quo rocks the DCU. On top of that we have some major events such as Justice/Doom War and Event Leviathan coming to a close. There are all the other massive storylines going on in series such as Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman and other comics. What else should we expect in November? Let’s find out by taking a closer look at DC Comics November 2019 solicitations.

SUPERGIRL, SHAZAM AND BLUE BEETLE ARE THE INFECTED

While we have events such as Event Leviathan and Justice/Doom War going on the next big Crisis level event seems to be building around the plans Batman Who Laughs. Those plans include infecting various heroes and villains to create his own Dark Multiverse Justice League in the form of the Secret Six. Now we know who three of these Dark Multiverse infected heroes are: Supergirl, Shazam and Blue Beetle. 

The choices for characters all make sense for different reasons. Of the three chosen the one that stands out immediately is Supergirl. We’ve known for months Shazam was going to be one and Blue Beetle is hardly being used right now. Things are different for Supergirl as she has had a consistent ongoing for a while. But now with this Batman Who Laughs has turned someone that is directly tied to the most important hero in the DC Universe. It’ll be interesting to see how Superman and others react to her heel turn.

With Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes is someone that is not currently being used in a solo series or on the Teen Titans. He is basically in limbo. Now he is being given something to do that will help elevate his name as Blue Beetle in the minds of readers. In the process DC has an opportunity to explore the Venom symbiote-like relationship Jaime shares with the Scarab that gives him his Blue Beetle powers.

Finally, Shazam’s heel turn as one of Batman Who Laughs infected is something that we’ve for a few months now. The King Shazam character will be made into a highly important character in the first story arc of the new Batman/Superman ongoing series. So with all these announcements King Shazam will be the one that will set the tone for how the rest of this story arc will go. It’s just a shame that the Shazam ongoing series has been hit with so many delays that the Geoff Johns/Dale Eaglesham will not be able to add to this storyline. At least not immediately.

BLACKEST NIGHT AND INFINITE CRISIS ENTER THE DARK MULTIVERSE

Tales From The Dark Multiverse has quickly become the must watch banner.  We already knew that both Batman: Knightfall and Death of Superman were getting a Tales From The Dark Multiverse one-shot in October. Now we know that Infinite Crisis and Blackest Night are also getting Tales From The Dark Multiverse one-shots. These are two big events that were written by Geoff Johns in the mid- and late-2000s. 

The choices of James Tynion for Infinite Crisis and Tim Seeley for Blackest Night continues to show readers how big of a deal Tales From The Dark Multiverse. Of these one shots Sinestro becoming a Limbo Lantern, which seems to be a merger of the White and Black Lantern powers, is the most intriguing. How Seeley fleshes this turn for Sinestro out will add to how unique these alternate versions of big events happen.

EVENT LEVIATHAN COMES TO A CLOSE

Event Leviathan has been a much slower paced event than what most fans are likely used. Especially if you are not familiar how Brian Bendis written events normally go. The reveal for who is leading this version of Leviathan looks to be going right down to the wire. Though clues have hinted at various characters, including Jason Todd, being the Leviathan leader don’t be surprised if it is someone else entirely. Maybe someone like Maxwell Lord, who would get a lot of headlines if it is given his past choices. Hopefully Event Leviathan #6 does have a satisfying conclusion and not just building a future event.

GOODBYE GREEN LANTERNS, HELLO BLACKSTARS

Grant Morrison’s Green Lantern run has not been like any other creative run on the franchise. He has gone all in on the universe spanning the scope of the Green Lantern franchise. That includes exploring the different types of alien races that exist in the DC Universe, no matter how weird. That has been one of the standout things about his run thus far.

The other thing that has stood out, like his other runs on Batman and Superman, is how fearless he is with introducing high concepts, including a world within the Green Lantern ring. Now he is taking things even farther by eliminating the Green Lantern Corps as a whole. In their place Morrison is bringing the Blackstars to fill that hole. But since Hal Jordan can’t stay out of the spotlight for too long he seems to have officially joined the Blackstars after originally leaving them behind. What exactly motivates Hal to become a Blackstar is a big question that Morrison will have a great answer for.

DC COMICS INTRODUCES TWO NEW GREEN LANTERN

Even though Grant Morrison is going to eliminate the Green Lantern Corps it does not mean that does not we won’t be without Green Lanterns. In fact, a brand new twelve-year-old Green Lantern is being introduced through the new Far Sector mini-series Green Lantern: Legacy trade paperback. The character’s name will be Sojourner “Jo” Mullein and Tai Pham. This is a low-key way to introduce two new Green Lantern into the mythos. We already have six adults and a teen Green Lantern. Now we have two brand new tween Green Lantern entering the game. Don’t be surprised if this is just the start the rise for Sojourner “Jo” Mullein and Tai Pham’s rise. They could likely be bigger parts of the mythos once the Green Lantern Corps makes its return during Morrison’s run.

NEW LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES ONGOING SERIES LAUNCHES

For those who have missed it, Rokk has done a great job breaking down all the news concerning the Legion of Super-Heroes. His most recent breakdowns of the three new Legion of Super-Heroes and Lightning Lad are must reads. When it comes to the Legion of Super-Heroes I have only a broad knowledge about them from appearances in different Crisis events and in Superman. For both Legion fans and new readers I hope that Brian Bendis is able to deliver a strong reading experience for the franchise. Because if he does than Legion can quickly reach a higher profile since they always seem to be a group that should be considered on the level of the JLA and JSA.

END OF JUSTICE/DOOM WAR MARKING THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT BIG THING

The Justice/Doom War is building to be the major conclusion of what Scott Snyder has been building since the first issue of his Justice League run. At least it’ll be the conclusion to what Snyder has been building around Lex Luthor’s plot based on the Multiverse. Justice League #35 teasing the fact that Lex wins is not a good sign for the iconic villain since the Justice/Doom War doesn’t end until Justice League #36.

With how Snyder is the one that created and built the plotline Batman Who Laughs the conclusion of Justice/Doom War could lead into a bigger Crisis. Especially with how multi-layered Snyder’s run has been that is likely the case. And with Greg Capullo teasing a big project with Snyder after re-signing with DC maybe that Crisis-level event is that project.

FLASHPOINT BATMAN HOLDS THE KEY TO CITY OF BANE

Since being re-introduced Flashpoint Batman has been on such a wild rollercoaster of character development. One issue he is the stand out and another he just is there while others take the spotlight. City of Bane has been different as Flashpoint Batman, along with Gotham Girl, have been the stars of this event. Which is odd given that everything leading to this has been part of Bane’s plot, which is why the story is named like it is. 

The purpose of Flashpoint Batman’s importance looks to be building towards him being the deciding factor in how City of Bane turns out. I’m not sure how to feel about that since this entire conflict that has spanned Tom King’s entire run has been about Batman vs Bane. If it comes down to a third party member that may not be the payoff fans expect. That said, “City of Bane” has been good thus far. I hope that when all is said and done that King nails the ending.

WONDER WOMAN CAN’T STOP CHEETAH’S TAKEOVER OF THEMYSCIRA

While Wonder Woman 1984 is still about a year away it does not mean DC Comics should wait to do something big with the character’s franchise. Bringing Cheetah in for a major storyline now is the right move. This gives DC time to build up the rivalry between Wonder Woman and Cheetah since they will be going at it for the movie next year. The more stories with the two of them will be better for the franchise. It will also help Wonder Woman get away from the constant storylines based around Greek Mythology.

All that said, the biggest standout from the solicitations for Wonder Woman #82 and #83 was that Steve Orlando is listed as the writer. While looking things up I did not find anything about G. Willow Wilson leaving the Wonder Woman series. So this may just be a short break for Wilson and she’ll be back to continue the direction she has been taking the Wonder Woman series. Still, it is odd that Wilson is not writing a storyline involving one of Wonder Woman’s biggest villains.

WHO IS OMEGA IN BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH?

One of the biggest mysteries in Batman: Last Knight On Earth is who Omega is. That will be answered in November with Batman: Last Knight On Earth. There haven’t been firm clues on who the mysterious Omega will be. If I had to guess is that it will be Joker. It would payoff how Batman has been carrying around Joker’s head throughout this storyline. And arguably the biggest story in Snyder and Capullo’s Batman run was the Endgame storyline that could’ve been the ending to their rivalry. But that is all a guess and we will learn the truth in November.

WALLY WEST OPENS DOOR FOR ROY HARPER’S RETURN

When it happened, Roy Harper’s death was one of the most felt from Heroes In Crisis. An entire Green Arrow issue was dedicated to his death. Since then Roy’s death, along with the other deaths in Heroes In Crisis, have not been followed up on. That changes a bit with Flash Forward #3 as Wally West will be meeting a vampire hunter version of Roy Harper from another universe. Having that take place in Flash Forward #3 could make that one of the most important issues to release from DC Comics in November.

BARBARA GORDON IS BATGIRL NO MORE

The Batman Family has not had much luck the last few years. Tim Drake spent time in a Multiverse prison. Jason Todd lost his Outlaw teammates and was kicked out of the Batman Family. Dick Grayson was shot in the head and turned into Ric Grayson. Now Barbara Gordon is going to be hit hard as her defeat at the hands of Oracle cause her to be out of action. Her injuries seem to imply that Barbara won’t be able to be Batgirl for a little bit. This would explain why Barbara isn’t taking part in saving Gotham City from Bane’s control alongside Tim Drake and Damian Wayne.

TIM DRAKE GETS A NEW COSTUME

For several months now Brian Bendis has been teasing giving Tim Drake a new costume, and possibly a new identity. Now in November we are finally going to see that happen as the cover to Young Justice #10 revealed his new costume change. To say the black, brown and yellow costume is underwhelming would be an understatement. The costume is actually just plain and forgettable. The reason I say this is that I completely missed the change in costume even after going through DC Comics November solicitations multiple times to see if I missed anything and look at the covers. The costume just looks incredibly generic with the colors making it even easier to miss seeing Tim on the cover.

That is very disappointing if this black, brown and yellow costume is the one that Bendis has been teasing giving Tim. It does not speak to the character graduating like when Dick Grayson became Nightwing. It would’ve been much better if Tim’s new costume integrated the red or green that made his Robin costume iconic. One costume that sticks out that could’ve been used as an inspiration was the all red costume with yellow cape from his return with Batman during One Year Later. That costume was much more of a statement of the character growing up and evolving than the one we see him wearing on the cover of Young Justice #10.

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