DC Presents got off to a great start with a superb Deadman arc. Then the Challengers of the Unknown arc came along and put paid to the concept that maybe DC was going to use this book for thoughtful, intelligent reboots of its more minor characters by using just about every tired and godawful team book concept in the last twenty years.
Currently, DC is retelling The Silence of the Lambs with Vandal Savage while quietly retconning Scandal Savage out of existence. The Savage arc isn’t bad, but it’s pretty stale. The idea of Savage as a serial killing lunatic who happens to be right is a great concept, but it’s being explored in an uninteresting way.
And now apparently Black Lightning and Blue Devil will be starring in their very own five-issue buddy cop movie. They’re going to be younger: Black Lightning is no longer a teacher, just an Olympic athlete, while Blue Devil is reverted back to the guy stuck in a demon suit we all know and love.
Marc Andreyko is writing the arc, so if nothing else, it means DC Presents will have some solidly written action comedy when Savage finishes up. Still, the more cynical side of us can’t help but notice that all of these arcs except Deadman are almost aggressively movie friendly. We get it, comics companies are IP farms to the movie studios that own them but even so, we’d appreciate not being reminded of it quite so aggressively.
image courtesy DC