DC Comics September 2017 Solicitations Analysis

Things look to get even worse within the DC Universe as Dark Nights starts taking over. With Dark Nights it looks like DC is going to be exploring the Multiverse in a way it never has. Additionally, it looks like we will finally learn who Mr. Oz just as Tim Drake looks to make his big return from being trapped Purgatory prison. And that is just a few things to come in September from DC Comics from their recently released solicitations.

Dark Nights: Metal Explores The Dark Side Of The Multiverse

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It was obvious that with Dark Nights we were going to get the return of the Multiverse in a big way. What wasn’t expected is that the Multiverse that we were going to be visiting is something completely new. Now termed “Dark Multiverse” it looks like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are looking to give us something we have never seen from DC’s Multiverse. September’s solicitations show us that the Justice League will be having a lot of fun traveling the new Dark Multiverse.

To help expand on the idea of the Dark Multiverse we are also getting a few special one shots in September. Though we only get a very vague solicitation for the Batman themed Dark Nights one-shot tie-ins the covers featuring the Batsymbol integrated with the Superman, Wonder Woman and other Justice League member logos builds a lot of intrigue. It is definitely eye catching and I will at least get one or more of these one-shots depending on what their direction is.

Dark Nights To Deliver A Successful Crossover

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Outside of these titles it also looks like other Batman Family titles are going to be pulled into the Dark Nights event as Teen Titans, Nightwing and Suicide Squad have their own crossover story going on at the same time. DC’s crossovers haven’t gone over well as the execution has been lacking. The Lazarus Contract, Superman Reborn and The Button failed to deliver on what you expect from a big crossover. The biggest problem with these crossovers were that they all seemed to get lost in how to execute on having a viable threat. But with Dark Nights being the key in this new crossover it hopefully means we will see more of a focused crossover between Teen Titans, Nightwing and Suicide Squad.

Mr. Oz Identity Revealed In Action Comics

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Mr. Oz has been around since the beginning of the New 52. Now it looks like it’ll be time to find out if Mr. Oz is really Ozymandias from Watchmen or a character no one expected in Action Comics. Superman being the one that uncovers Mr. Oz’s real identity seems appropriate given their connection. What’ll be interesting is to see how “The Oz Effect” positions Mr. Oz in the upcoming event featuring Doctor Manhattan. So far Mr. Oz has been portrayed as a villain but with Doctor Manhattan on his way we may see his role flipped. It would definitely be to the benefit of the DCU if Mr. Oz is on their side if Doctor Manhattan proves to be the real threat to the DCU.

Barry Allen Becoming A New Flash

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Barry Allen hasn’t had the easiest life since DC Rebirth began. While he enjoyed some happiness with the original Wally West return things have been going downhill since then. Things aren’t going to be any easier now that it looks like he will become the Negative-Flash. We still don’t know what that means for Barry’s Speed Force powers but it definitely looks like he won’t be the same again. Even his professional life at Central City Police Department looks to be affected. Now with a new threat in the form of Bloodwork won’t make things any easier.

Green Arrow Ready To Join The Big Leagues

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While Green Arrow has never been more popular than he is now DC has kept the character away from the Justice League for a while now. Even though he was part of the New 52 JLA that was very short lived thanks to the constant change in direction of the New 52. And while Black Canary has been given a bigger presence in the DCU as she is a member of the Birds of Prey and Justice League of America, Green Arrow has stayed in his own corner. But now with the recent Green Arrow solicitations maybe Benjamin Percy and DC are setting up Oliver to join the Justice League again. It would definitely shake things up for one of the Justice League teams but probably won’t happen since his team-up with the team is happening in his solo series rather than the JL books.

Tim Drake Returns Prison Break-Style

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After being tucked away in Mr. Oz’s special purgatory prison for forgotten characters Tim Drake will be making his big return. Though from what we learn in Detective Comics #965’s solicitation it won’t be easy. Given that there are many characters that have gone missing since DC Rebirth began, Tim’s return could reach beyond just being an important moment for the Batman Family. Given that Tim’s Teen Titans teammates like Connor Kent, Cassandra Sandsmark and Bart Allen haven’t show up it could be that Tim finds them locked up somewhere in Mr. Oz’s prison. If that is the case that it may not be as easy to leave the place Tim has been stuck for almost a year now.

Nightwing A Bad Guy In All Universes

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Since going back to being Nightwing, Dick Grayson has seen his status within the DC Universe increase slowly over time. First, he has been a bigger presence across the Batman Family titles and now we are seeing DC go in yet another big direction for the character as he turns out to be the bad guy in Titans and Nightwing: New Order. Though given what happened in the recent issue of Titans I could easily see the solicitation for Titans #15 is a misdirect. With how easily the solicitation gives away the big secret traitor in the Titans it would be a shame if Nightwing is the true traitor. It would also be an odd direction to give Nightwing since the role of traitor would be better used on a character that is not all over the DCU and isn’t in need of more attention.

Wonder Woman Follows Up On Darkseid War

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The Darkseid War was one of the last big stories before DC transitioned from the New 52 to DC Rebirth. Now we are finally going to see a follow-up on the big story with James Robinson, Carlo Pagulayan and Emanuela Lupacchino taking over Wonder Woman’s ongoing series. Though the solicitation does not mention the character I hope Robinson’s arc will include Grail. She was a very interesting addition to the DCU and now this new arc could establish her as one of Wonder Woman’s top villains, helping to strengthen her Rogues Gallery.

DC Comics Continues Crossovers With Everyone But Marvel

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Now with DC announcing a crossover between Wonder Woman and Conan it is clear that DC Comics is open to creating stories with characters from other companies. With the crossover with Conan, DC has now crossover their characters with comics from IDW, Dark Horse and BOOM! Studios. Now it seems like the only one left for them to team-up with is Image and Marvel. Teaming up with Marvel for another possible JLA/Avengers comic is highly unlikely but possibly seeing a DC/Image crossover wouldn’t be surprising to hear happen. The possibility of seeing Superman and Invincible would be very intriguing and hopefully happens now that DC is open to so many different types of crossovers.