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  • 'Countdown' Is An Expensive Year-Long Story That Doesn't Matter  on Random Most Hated DC Comic Arcs

    (#14) 'Countdown' Is An Expensive Year-Long Story That Doesn't Matter 

    For 51 straight weeks - beginning with issue #51 and counting backwards down to issue #1 - Countdown (renamed Countdown to Final Crisis as the series neared its conclusion) trotted out just about every DC character of note to tell a rambling, overlapping story that ended up being completely inconsequential to DC continuity as a whole. Following on the heels of another weekly series, 52, but keeping the story within the context of the greater DC timeline instead of a "lost" year, Countdown was designed to restructure the world of the New Gods and set up Darkseid as the ultimate villain in anticipation of his (next) attempt to rewrite reality in the Final Crisis miniseries that immediately followed its conclusion in DC Universe #0 (June 2008).

    The series revolves around Darkseid's plot to control the multiverse in a cosmic game of chess in which he uses heroes and villains from various Earths as pawns. To clear his path to victory, Darkseid attempts to pit the Monitors tasked with safeguarding the multiverse against Monarch and the Crime Society. Unbeknownst to all, however, Darkseid's opponent is the rogue Monitor Solomon, who wishes to control the multiverse himself. Various interconnecting plot lines reveal that New Gods are being slain, Superboy-Prime is back - now as Superman-Prime - and looking for a "perfect" Earth, and a virus is running rampant across parallel Earths, turning people into OMACs for assimilation by Brother Eye.

    There are some fun scenes and interesting iterations of characters, but too many scenes are repeated in multiple issues without added context and the art varies wildly from issue to issue. Countless characters perish throughout the series - including Darkseid himself - but in the end, any victories were hollow and any deaths meaningless as DC promptly resurrected Darkseid and launched into its next "event," Final Crisis.

  • The Man Of Steel Goes Full-On Punisher Before Offing Himself In 'Superman: At Earth's End' on Random Most Hated DC Comic Arcs

    (#4) The Man Of Steel Goes Full-On Punisher Before Offing Himself In 'Superman: At Earth's End'

    We're sympathetic to DC writers. It can't be easy crafting original stories designed to challenge the hero when that hero has been around as long and is as powerful as Superman. There are only so many different types of Kryptonite or magic imps from another dimension to rely upon before it all starts feeling redundant. Those limitations, plus a 1995 release date - right smack-dab in the middle of the speculator bubble crash, when big guns and pouches were all the rage - make Superman: At Earth's End an almost forgivable entry in DC's Elseworlds line. Almost. As one reviewer put it, this comic falls into the category of "stories that simply get it wrong on every possible level imaginable."

    The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future and is a semi-sequel to Kamandi: At Earth's End. Earth's heroes are all but forgotten and Superman, sporting the look of a hermit on steroids, is greatly diminished due to lack of adequate sunlight. Dwelling in a hovering city that allows him to slowly regain his strength, he looks down upon the ruins of Gotham City and finds that the remains of his old friend Batman have been taken from their resting place, along with the bodies of his parents. Heading off to investigate in what would become his final mission, Superman encounters bat creatures, lion-men, robots, cyborgs, mutant SS troopers, and a pair of Hitler clones. 

    Though the basic premise is not all that bad on its own, noted poet, author, and comic book scribe Tom Veitch does not give us Superman, or even an approximation of the Superman that we all know and love. Though he can fly and is supposedly back up to strength, the Superman in Earth's End relies on weapons to do most of the work, including a gun so ludicrously huge that it would probably even make Rob Liefeld roll his eyes. Not only does he have no problem mowing down his enemies, but this Superman is so devoid of any semblance of hope that, after being mortally injured, he would rather give up and take his own life rather than live out his days as a *gasp* cyborg.

  • Justice League: Cry for Justice on Random Most Hated DC Comic Arcs

    (#9) Justice League: Cry for Justice

    • Comic Book Series

    After the slaying of Martian Manhunter and the apparent demise of Batman during Darkseid's bid to recreate reality in Final Crisis, Green Lantern Hal Jordan decides that the Justice League needs to be more proactive. With a cobbled-together team of B- and C-list heroes that includes Green Arrow, Atom (Ray Palmer), Starman (Mikaal Tomas), Congorilla, Freddy Freeman, and Supergirl, the new, "extreme" Justice League team abandons "justice" in favor of "revenge," and ditches some of their morals along the way. But even the team's more aggressive approach to crime-fighting - including using torture to extract information - can't stop millions of casualties, including the demise of cute, little grade-school-age Lian Harper, daughter of Roy Harper, AKA Speedy (later Arsenal and Red Arrow).

    Though writer James Robinson previously wrote such acclaimed works as The Golden Age and the series Starman, and was even nominated for an Eisner Award for his work on Justice League: Cry for Justice, the series was simply too dark and too wordy. Rather than rely on the beautiful art of Mauro Cascioli - also nominated for an Eisner for his work on the series - Robinson attempted to drive the plot with pithy dialogue, stale speeches about "justice," and countless yawn-inducing "thought" captions.

  • Batman Gets The 'Extreme' '90s Treatment In 'Knightquest' on Random Most Hated DC Comic Arcs

    (#13) Batman Gets The 'Extreme' '90s Treatment In 'Knightquest'

    The wildly popular Knightfall storyline that kicked off in Batman (Vol. 1) #492 (May 1993) would grow to become one of the biggest and most elaborate event storylines in the Dark Knight's publishing history up until that point. The three-act story - Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd - was told over 38 issues of seven different titles and completely altered the status quo in Gotham City, with lasting ramifications for Batman and DC continuity for years to follow. Elements of the story, including Bane and "the breaking of the Bat" have even seeped into wider popular culture, including celebrated filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Saga of films.

    The series is only marred by its terrible second act: Knightquest. After Batman is worn down and crippled by Bane in Knightfall, Bruce Wayne decides in Knightquest to appoint a replacement to protect Gotham City. Rather than choose Dick Grayson, his longtime ward and the original Robin who has become the badass adult hero Nightwing, Bruce chooses... Jean-Paul Valley, who had only debuted as the flame-wielding holy warrior Azrael a year prior.

    Valley decides Bruce's Batman has been too warm and fuzzy and outfits his Bat-suit with armor, razor-sharp Batarangs, lasers, and a flamethrower, among other weapons. The increasingly unstable new Batman dispenses "justice" with extreme prejudice, often injuring, crippling, or, in the case of the serial slayer Abattoir, ending them, while simultaneously tarnishing Batman's reputation and straining his relationship with law enforcement. Meanwhile, Bruce falls in love with his metahuman physiotherapist Shondra Kinsolving and attempts to rescue her from her adoptive brother Benjamin Asplin, AKA Asp. In the end, Asp is slain and Bruce's back is healed, but poor Shondra ends up with the mind of a child and has to be institutionalized.

    Knightquest and Valley's "extreme" Batman were so disliked by fans that DC basically attempted to ignore it by omission. The publisher waited 18 years to collect the first part, "The Search," and another five before collecting the second part, "The Crusade," while the rest of the series had been available as reprints or in trade paperback collections for years.

  • Jason Todd Becomes A Monster And Dick Grayson A 'Sleazy' Model In 'Brothers in Blood' on Random Most Hated DC Comic Arcs

    (#7) Jason Todd Becomes A Monster And Dick Grayson A 'Sleazy' Model In 'Brothers in Blood'

    Bruce Jones is an Inkpot Award-winning writer (2004) who has penned many memorable storylines in his decades-long career, including a fantastic run on Marvel's The Incredible Hulk. But when Jones jumped ship from Marvel to DC in 2005, he went from revitalizing the Hulk creatively and financially to nearly destroying two classic DC characters in what is considered by many to be one of the worst story arcs of all time.

    In Nightwing #118-124 (2006), later collected as Nightwing: Brothers in Blood, Jones propels former Robins Dick Grayson and Jason Todd into the future as part of the "One Year Later" company-wide event that followed Infinite Crisis. Dick, needing a change of pace, moves to New York City to continue to fight crime as Nightwing. Jason has the same idea and also moves to NYC to fight crime as Nightwing, but as a darker, more violent version of his Bat-brother's alter ego. Naturally, the two come to blows...

    If that were the extent of the storyline, Brothers in Blood would likely not have been "almost unanimously panned" and an arc so notorious that it made this list. Unfortunately, Jones wrote in a bizarre subplot where Jason turns into a mutant tentacle-monster and painted Dick as a depressed, "somewhat sleazy" character who gives up police work to become a male model, have promiscuous relations, and make culturally inappropriate jokes about Native Americans. 

  • J.T. Krul Turns Red Arrow Into A Misogynistic Psycho In 'Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal' on Random Most Hated DC Comic Arcs

    (#6) J.T. Krul Turns Red Arrow Into A Misogynistic Psycho In 'Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal'

    The demise of his daughter during the destruction of Star City by Prometheus in Justice League: Cry for Justice, coupled with the loss of his right arm, sends Roy Harper down the violent, delusional, and self-destructive path that leads to his abandonment of the Red Arrow persona he spent years cultivating. As chronicled in Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal (2010), Roy's inability to perform - both as a hero and as a lover - or to exact revenge upon Prometheus himself, along with hallucinations brought on by his unstable mental condition and a tragic return to substance use, turn him into the violent vigilante Arsenal.

    The "Rise" in the title gives the impression of ascendance; however, there's nothing but "descent" in the four-issue miniseries written by J.T. Krul. The already tragic life of Roy Harper becomes even sadder and more twisted as the series progresses: Roy crudely rates his romantic partners in his mind while in the midst of battle; attempts, unsuccessfully, to have hate sex with the grieving mother of his daughter; and beats a street gang with the body of a deceased cat that he believes possesses his daughter's spirit. The series has been politely called "not very good," with others decrying it as "bad and riddled with inaccuracies and general weirdness," but most declaring it "the worst comic of all time."

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About This Tool

DC Comics created great and popular characters such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, who worked hard to fight for justice and defend the innocent. On the other hand, some little-known and embarrassing DC comic arcs characters have also sparked discussion. Over time, it is easy to tell who is popular, acceptable, and who is ignored. 

A large number of DC movies were released to show their most popular characters and stories, and the distributors are doing everything they can to make sure that fans forget some annoying DC comic arcs. The random tool lists 14 of the most hated DC comic arcs for fans. 

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