What does “Iconic” Mean, Anyway?

Several years back, after Dan DiDio started overseeing DC Comics, it was said that he wanted to get back to the more iconic versions of different characters.

As a result, we saw Hal Jordan return as Green Lantern, JLA featured a lineup that included Black Canary, Hawkman and Green Arrow, and Barry Allen come back to life and was running around as the Flash. These events happened gradually over time, but now, with the New 52, DC has hit a selective reset button to undo whatever has been done over the last several decades that they want to ignore. Some have been positive, some negative, but all have been questionable.

When it comes to icons in the superhero world, the first name that comes to mind is Superman. With the New 52, Superman (and his colleagues) appear much younger than they did at the end of the old universe. He and Lois are not only no longer married, they’ve never had any romantic relationship whatsoever. It is clearly early in Superman’s career and Clark Kent’s feelings for Lois remain unrequited. It’s a controversial move, as fans of Superman in print and television saw Lois and Clark develop their relationship and get married, and now it’s gone. The love story, complete with the Clark-Lois-Superman love triangle is such an integral – dare I say iconic – part of the Superman mythos, and now it has the potential to return, before it was merely a thing of the past.

The Green Lantern franchise has handled this transition remarkably well, at least so far. Having the luxury of multiple titles, fans of each of Earth’s Lanterns have a place to go to read about their favorite ring slinger. Hal Jordan remains the focus of the main book, and his rivalry with Sinestro is front and center. Sinestro is even a Green Lantern again, hearkening back to the origin of their relationship. Love him or hate him, Hal has always been the iconic GL. Even when Kyle Rayner was the only Green Lantern in the universe, it was understood that Hal was the greatest of them all. Fortunately for Kyle fans, he takes center stage in GL: The New Guardians. Guy Gardner and John Stewart fans can read their tales in GL Corps.

Another effect of DiDio’s influence has been a more unified universe where things feel connected, which was executed brilliantly in the lead-up to Infinite Crisis several years ago.

With the new DCU, it’s difficult to tell which books take place in the same time, let alone the same place.

The core heroes are younger and thus, apparently less experienced in their roles as they were before. The Justice League is now said to have formed five years ago. Action Comics is chronicling the first stage of Superman’s career, but it’s unclear when that is, in relation to everything else. While Batman seems to be untouched in his own books, how is it that Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake have still all been Robin, with Damian Wayne now in the costume, in such a short span of time? Even more troubling, if Batman has only been around for about five years, how does he have a son who is at least twice that age with the daughter of a Batman villain?

This confusion is most evident with the Flash. In this book, Barry Allen is the star, but it appears that, like Lois and Clark, he is not only not married to Iris West, they are not even dating. This begs the question: what in the world happened to Wally West? The Flash went from featuring a family of speedsters to a single character that had been dead for over twenty years. The question that must be asked in this case is: is this really the iconic version of the character?

As described above, an argument can be made for rewinding Superman. Hal Jordan was viewed by many as the true Green Lantern even when he wasn’t alive. But Flash? After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wally West, the former Kid Flash and nephew of Iris West, took on the role, taking Barry Allen’s place after his death. At first, Wally struggled with living up to Barry’s legacy, then he feared taking his place. Eventually, Wally came into his own as a character and accepted his place in the DCU as the premiere speedster. He even surpassed Barry by entering and returning from the Speed Force with greater knowledge of how to use his powers. While Kyle Rayner was always the “new Green Lantern” after taking Hal Jordan’s place, Wally West was The Flash. He was recognized as the greatest speedster of them all, even better than Barry.

Now DC brings Barry back after a nearly 25-year absence and casts aside a character that had become a cornerstone of the DC Universe. One has to wonder, is this truly the iconic Flash? Barry was always “the man” in Wally’s eyes, but Wally was the man in the eyes of many readers, especially those who began reading comics after 1985. That’s nearly thirty years’ worth of story that’s being potentially thrown out in favor of a character that most current readers barely know. Not only that, but his background was changed in Flash Rebirth, making him a different character than he ever was.

So what is iconic, anyway? Is it what is most identifiable to non-hardcore fans? Is it what’s regarded as such by other characters? Is it the essence of a character or concept and capturing what makes it great? Or is it just going back to how things were during a time when comics enjoyed greater success?