DC Comics is responsible for some of the greatest stories in the history of comics. The publisher created the superhero back in 1938 and since then has been refining the concept, all while branching them out into sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, slice of life, and basically every other genre you can imagine. They pushed the industry forward numerous times and have created some unforgettable stories. Some of their comics are so good that they’ve been praised by the mainstream, changing the way comics are perceived. DC created the “Prestige Format” comics in the ’80s and is the home of the stories that proved superheroes aren’t just for children, but not every story can be Watchmen.
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Over the years, readers have gotten stories that have run the gamut of quality, from amazing and unforgettable to bad and completely forgettable. However, there’s another category. There are some stories that have become so infamous they can’t be forgotten. Some of them are bad and some of them are just acquired tastes. These five DC stories became unforgettable, but not always for the best reasons.
5) Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown to Final Crisis has been maligned for years, but I remember buying it as it came out, being excited for the weekly issues, at least at the beginning. The weekly <a href="https://comicvibe.com/angela-comic-series-from-marvel-lands-in-february-2027/” title=”Angela comic series from Marvel lands in February 2027″>series came out in 2007, right as 52 ended, leading to the next big DC event, Final Crisis. The story basically takes readers across the DC Multiverse as the Monitors start hunting down multiversal variants and the New Gods begin their cataclysmic final war, with the heroes trying to figure out exactly what is going on.
Countdown to Final Crisis has its moments (I love all the stuff with Karate Kid, for example, and the Jimmy Olsen stuff is fun too), but what has made it so unforgettable is just how much it bungled everything. See, Final Crisis was written by Grant Morrison and at the time, Morrison wasn’t really sharing what they were doing with DC editorial. The creators and editors of Countdown basically went rogue and the series doesn’t really actually set up Final Crisis at all. Whether you like it or not, it will always be remembered for not even attempting to live up to its title.
4) The Dark Knight Strikes Again
The Dark Knight Returns is one of the greatest moments in comic history. Frank Miller’s story about a 50-something Batman taking up the cowl again has gone down as one of the books that helped mature the medium and is on numerous best of all-time lists. It has become a seminal moment in comic history and for many fans it has no equals. It also has no sequels for many fans, despite there being several and The Dark Knight Strikes Again is the reason for that. This was the follow-up to the classic and it’s become infamous in its own right.
A lot of people will tell you its terrible, but it isn’t. It’s actually a pretty good DC story set in a dark alternate future. However, it’s the sequel to a comic that many consider to be one of the greatest ever and fans had sky expectations. It didn’t reach them, so suddenly it’s the worst thing ever. The funny thing is a lot of the things that readers complain about were all done in the original as well. It’s a story that is remembered for being terrible, but the truth is a bit more complicated than that.
3) Heroes In Crisis
Heroes In Crisis is legitimately hated by many DC fans. The story introduced readers to the concept of Sanctuary, a place where the heroes could go to deal with their own mental issues. When all of the patients there are killed, with only Booster Gold and Harley Quinn surviving, the superhero community mobilizes to figure out who did it, something made more difficult when the existence of Sanctuary is leaked to the press. The story itself is mostly okay, but the reveal of the killer is what makes the book so hated, as it was revealed that Wally West lost control of his powers and accidentally killed everyone, using time travel to commit suicide out of guilt.
Fans immediately rebelled because they loved Wally. However, I think that this story often gets unfairly maligned. While the mystery is kind of blah and it’s a little too long for its own good, the concept of Sanctuary is super-interesting and it makes sense that Wally would be as damaged as he was. It’s a story that has its problems but that’s the case with most comics, it just had the unfortunate honor of doing something no one liked with a character everyone loved.
2) Convergence
Convergence is one of the last major New 52 events. It revolves around Brainiac gaining access to the various dead worlds of the multiverse, stealing cities from each of them, and placing them all on one planet, which would become the living being known as Telos, leading to a war between the various heroes and villains. Convergence is a multiverse story that had very little effect on the overall line of DC books and it came at a time when a lot of fans were checked out of the New 52. It’s gone down as a failure, but it’s actually remembered with some esteem from fans.
While the main book gets its share of negativity, the tie-ins are pretty universally praised, which is rather unique in the pantheon of events. See, each two-issue miniseries took readers to various fan-favorite Earths, including the post-Crisis Earth. That’s right, this is the story that brought back the pre-Flashpoint Superman and Lois Lane, all while introducing the world to Jon Kent. So, while this story isn’t particularly loved for what it is and had no effect on anything overall, it birthed the best new DC hero in years and has some excellent tie-in books.
1) Amazons Attack! (Vol. 1)
Wonder Woman has starred in awesome stories, but not all of them can be great. In fact, some of them can be downright bad, which leads us to 2007’s Amazons Attack!. This story spun out of events in Wonder Woman (Vol. 3), when Diana was imprisoned by the US government, leading Hippolyta and the Amazons to attack Man’s World in an effort to free her. The rest of the hero community has to step up to stop one of the most potent fighting forces on Earth, but there’s more going on than anyone realizes. Honestly, if you just go by that set-up, this story seems like it should be pretty good, but for whatever reason the execution of it was the main problem.
The story was poo-poo’ed by fans and critics alike and it includes some of the most meme-d moments in DC history. The scene that really stands out involves the Amazons using bees to attack the world and Batman saying, “Bees, my god,” as if it was the most dangerous weapon ever. The story did come out in the aftermath of The Wicker Man remake, so it might have been homaging that, but it was just one of many weird moments that made this story unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
What DC stories do you remember for the wrong reasons? Any you think deserve to be on the list? Sound off in the comment section below.
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