The following article contains spoilers
DC Comics’ heroes suit up with all-new attires post-Convergence. Why such a change and what does it mean for future storylines?
As most of you have noticed by now, The New 52, at least as an imprint of DC Comics, is over. DC revealed earlier this year the new looks some of the most iconic heroes would be sporting right after ”Convergence” is done.
But why the changes on their costumes and what does it mean for the future of the characters themselves? To answer those questions we are going to dive deep into the DC Comics universe and analyze where are our heroes headed post-Convergence.
Superman
Why don’t we start with the blue knight of Metropolis, the blur, Superman or let’s just call him Clark Kent. That’s right, now that everyone knows his secret identity, the dual persona he has hidden so carefully during the years is no more.
How he hid among men during all those years, with just a pair of glasses and a different hair cut is still a mystery. But referring to his costume, the New 52 saw an all-new Man of Steel. After 2011’s ”Flashpoint”, most of our favorite heroes and villains went through a wardrobe change. In Superman’s case he left the tights to oblivion.
Action Comics, starring a young Clark Kent during his early years as Superman, featured the titular hero wearing a blue shirt with the House of El symbol, jeans and a cape – albeit a very special cape.
The older version of the New 52 Superman, starring in Justice League and Superman, wore a blue and red suit of armor – an actual armor. The new suit had Kryptonian origins, was self regenerative and provided Sups with a degree of protection against direct attacks – in essence, he looked like a knight from the house of El. So why does the post-convergence Superman is wearing a cosplay t-shirt and blue jeans? Getting back to the fact his identity is now public, Superman may have decided a more direct approach to the people is needed, so dressing as one of them is a logical move. However if we are speaking battle-wise, I prefer the New 52 suit of armor. Well, at least now that the world knows the man behind the steel, for Superman there is no more holding back.
Wonder Woman
Next we have the reluctant god(dess) of war of DC Comics: Wonder Woman. During the New 52, Wonder Woman became the new god of war. After ”Flashpoint”, she started wearing a more armored version of her pre-Flashpoint attire, changing the golden parts of her suit for silver-colored variants instead.
Originally, the New 52 version of princess Diana was supposed to wear dark blue tight pants along with the rest of her iconic armor. However there were last minute changes and the idea was dropped.
The post-Convergence Wonder Woman seems to have fully embraced her title of god of war, now wearing a full battle armor armed with spear-wielding gauntlets, shoulder pads and the pants her New 52 version was set to wear originally. She has also traded the silver for gold, which is a good thing, as she is a god after all. Does the new look sends the right message? Yes, at least for me it does. Fear her.
Now what happens with her mission as the ”god of peace” that we saw in the ”Future’s End” future of Wonder Woman? That would have been an interesting new direction.
Green Lantern
Like Batman’s history, Hal Jordan and his adventures as a Green Lanter were left mostly intact after the ”Flashpoint” event. Geoff Johns clearly build a mythology DC did not want to ignore. As it with the rest of the Justice League, big changes came for Hal’s costume. Like Superman, he traded the spandex for a more armored-like appearance.
The New 52 run for Hal Jordan came to a close when he became Green Lantern Corps Leader. After the Green Lanterns’ name was tarnished all over the universe, he sacrificed himself to take the blame of all that transpired and Green Lantern #40 sees a Hal Jordan going rogue – saving the Green Lanterns in the process while starting his solo mission, equipped with the power gauntlet, a forbidden weapon he stole from the lantern vaults.
Does this mean he has given up the mantle of Green Lantern? Not at all. He may be a renegade now, but he no less ”green” than before.
Hal Jordan – renegade, has set upon himself to clean up the name of the Green Lantern Corps while also avoid being captured, now that is he is fugitive #1 of the known universe. So what’s in store for Hal? What I most anticipate of the next chapter in Jordan’s life is when he comes into collision course with the rest of the human lanterns like John Stewart or red lantern Guy Gardner.
A question remains. Why the hood? With all that green glowing energy surrounding him I doubt he can travel unnoticed.
Green Arrow
Continuing with the second most iconic green hero of DC, who coincidentially has co-starred in the past along with Hal Jordan on an ongoing team up series of their own, we present you Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow.
Growing famous by the minute, a great part of that because of Stephen Amell’s role as Oliver Queen on the CW’s Arrow, the Emerald Archer went through interesting changes on his looks after ”Flashpoint”. The New 52 Green Arrow’s suit looked like an armored version of his Smallville’s counterpart.
Still a spoilled, young rich boy, Oliver Queen reluctanly asks for help. In the New 52 there is no Black Canary by his side (yet). With a new mythology behind him, this version of Green Arrow is the best to date. He discovered he is part of a greater scheme, along with his now deceased father, they belong to the Arrow clan, which is part of the seven weapons clans – known as the Outsiders.
According to a preview for Green Arrow #41, the series will take a darker tone and we may see Oliver on full detective mode.
The new suit Oliver is wearing resembles that of a medieval archer rather than a modern one. Even those gauntlets are more traditional, even tribal I may say. No tights, instead he is wearing a kevlar vest from the looks of it, with an arrow symbol across his chest. Equipped with a regular quiver at first glance, a compound crossbow, militarized pants with a big pair of boots.
Post-Convergence, will Oliver embrace his destiny as the leader of the Arrow clan?
The Flash
The only being to remember the events that transpired before and during ”Flashpoint”, Barry Allen – The Flash.
With designs based on creations by Jim Lee, the Flash from the New 52 had a more dynamic vibe going on. You would see him running from panel to panel and you could feel the character was indeed moving. The design gave the character more mobility. As with the rest of designs by Jim Lee, Flash and the rest of the Justice League adopted more armored looks. Flash’s new suit sported lightning-shaped lines that divided the various areas of his suit. The buits and gloves included some sort of appertures which gave the costume more aerodynamic capabilities. Last but not least, we could not forget the iconic lightnings on each side of Barry’s mask.
With a new suit, came new threats. A new Reverse-Flash, super-powered rogues and a crazier Grodd. The Flash’s costume is set to change one more time and guess what? New threats along with it. The new suit post-Convergence has a vibe that reminds me of the one the Flash is currently using in the television show on the CW.
The costume post-Convergence seems like a combination of Grant Gustin’s Flash and the New 52 version. The symbol on Flash’s chest has changed colors, matching the one used by Gustin’s Flash. The suit on the cover of Flash #41 is releasing a lot of lightning bolts, just in case you were not sure that is the Flash we are talking about…sighs.
Professor Zoom has returned. It is still unknown if this version is the same one that forced Barry to unleash Flashpoint. If it is, it would mean he has been playing us all along. Flash #41 will answer those questions, until then, ”Convergence” is upon its climax, so don’t miss it. I bet there are still some surprises left to uncover during ”Convergence”.
What do you think of the heroes, their new costumes and their possible new directions post-Convergence?
Sound off in the comments section below.
Stay tuned for the second part of our take on the post-Convergence look of our beloved heroes.
Also, don’t miss Lex Luthor’s new look – Lex Luthor New Look Post-Convergence
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