DC Comics has this tendency to reboot their entire comic book universe every few years. The first big reboot was 1985-86’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, which led us into the Post-Crisis years of DC (my favorite era of comics to read). You had some soft reboots after that, 1994’s “Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!”, 2005-2006’s “Infinite Crisis”, and 2008’s “Final Crisis.” The next big one and the most famous one in recent memory is 2011’s The New 52, which was caused by the events in the limited series “Flashpoint”.
The New 52 was a complete reboot of the DC Multiverse, and it wiped out at that point 77 years’ worth of comic book history. Fans were not happy that this happened, and to fix it, we had more reboots. The 2015 “Convergence” storyline saw DC slowly trying to regain their pre- “Flashpoint” continuity. DC Rebirth in 2016 saw a mostly restored DC Multiverse to its pre-” Flashpoint” days, but still keeping elements of The New 52. But this was not the end; the miniseries “Dark Knight: Death Metal” (2020-21), the event “Generations” (2020-21) and the miniseries “Future State” (2021) lead us into our current era, Infinite Frontier.
Now dear readers, you might be asking yourself, “Marie, why are you giving us a brief history of DC Comics reboots and relaunches?” Well, you see, that is really the only way to understand where we are currently at in the comics.
Infinite Frontier, which started in March of 2021, feels like the cultivation of almost 90 years of DC Comics. With this newest relaunch, the DC Multiverse is now an Omniverse which means everything is canon now. It is an exciting time to be a comic book fan right now.
Both miniseries “Infinite Frontier” by Joshua Williamson and “Justice League Incarnate” by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver take readers on a multiverse-hopping adventure through space and time. Another series I have enjoyed so far by Williamson is “Robin,” which follows Damian Wayne. It has action, adventure and comedy. It has also been developing the character of Damian Wayne more and shows him trying to solve his own mysteries.
As a Flash fan, I was most hyped for Wally West’s return as the Scarlet Speedster. In this new run by Jeremy Adams, we see Wally trying to balance his life as a superhero and as a father. This latest run really embraces the zaniness of the medium; it’s, at times, a sci-fi story and, at other times, a family drama. The stories are colorful and silly — they represent everything I love about comic books.
“Batgirls” by Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad sees both Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain taking up the mantle of Batgirl again, but this time together. They are aided by their predecessor Barbara Gordon. The series, right now, only has four issues out, so I do not have a fully formed opinion on it yet, but overall the plot so far has been fun to read and has kept my attention. I look forward to what upcoming arcs this series has in store.
A series that has been an unexpected favorite of mine is “Superman: Son of Kal-El” by Tom Taylor. It’s been a thrill ride to see the teenage son of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent trying to fill the shoes his father left behind and become the new Superman. Like all teenagers, Jon is going through the pains of growing up. Superhero or not, I think everyone can relate to how awkward the teenage years are. My favorite part has been how he learns to ask for help from his friends and family.
If you are just getting comics, Infinite Frontier is a great starting point. It’s full of energy and life. It is easy to understand and follow.
The one thing all of these characters have in common is that they are trying to keep the legacy of their names alive. They all want to make the ones who came before them proud. That’s what I have loved most about Infinite Frontier; it embraces the past and the future of DC Comics. No matter how dark or silly it gets.