Stop me if you've heard this one before. A popular publisher of superhero comics has hit a prolonged rough patch after years of questionable storytelling decisions and declining sales. In order to turn things around, they steer ahead with a massive relaunch that aims to both honor the company's powerful legacy and embrace a brighter, more exciting future. That relaunch kicks off with a special one-shot comic that introduces some huge plot twists, brings fan-favorite characters back into the spotlight and features fourth wall-breaking narration by a long-absent hero.
That's where DC was in May 2016 at the start of DC Rebirth, and Marvel finds itself in the exact same position now as the Legacy relaunch gets underway. The similarities between DC Universe Rebirth #1 and Marvel Legacy #1 really are pretty blatant. The one key difference between the two books is that, while they're both successful at what they set out to accomplish, they ultimately succeed for different reasons. If Marvel Legacy does succeed in its mission to redeem Marvel, it won't be for the same reasons Rebirth has salvaged DC.
I fell hard for DC Universe Rebirth #1 when it was released last May, and my love for it has only grown in the year since. It's one of the most powerfully and emotionally charged comics Geoff Johns has ever written. It's a love letter to the DCU, warts and all, and one that acknowledges that the DC Universe can be better than it was in the final days of the New 52. As the story's narrator, Wally West gave voice to every jilted fan who wanted DC to get back in touch with what it lost. The comic was very meta in that way.
Warning: spoilers for Marvel Legacy #1 ahead!
Marvel Legacy #1 has elements of that approach, certainly. The book is narrated by Valeria Richards, another long-absent character with some observations to make about the nature of her universe and the ways its gone off-course in her absence. But Legacy never really uses that element to the same profound effect as Rebirth. Valeria is less a desperate refugee of a dead world like Wally and more a dispassionate observer. Mind you, as a longtime Fantastic Four fan I was thrilled to see Val and her brother show up after a two-and-a-half year absence, but nothing in this issue rivaled that incredible moment from DCU rebirth where Barry Allen pulled Wally from his doom in the Speed Force.
Like I said, Marvel Legacy's strengths lay in other areas. This issue may not have been quite the epic mea culpa Rebirth was, but it is packed to the brim with wild ideas and crazy plot twists that serve to make me excited about where the Marvel Universe is headed in 2018. For one thing, I'm already in love with the concept of the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC, a team of prehistoric ancestors of today's heroes led by none other than Odin himself. Few things will make me as pumped about a comic as seeing a prehistoric version of Ghost Rider riding a woolly mammoth.
That was just the beginning of the craziness Marvel Legacy #1 brought to bear. This issue also revealed that the nation of Wakanda is but a small blip compared to the intergalactic Wakandan empire. It brought back the classic version of Wolverine and armed him with an Infinity Gem (no, I refuse to call them Infinity Stones just because it's the hip parlance these days). It established Deadpool's tragic downfall from world-renowned hero to pariah and wanted fugitive. It proved that, even if Reed Richards and Susan Storm remain MIA, the legacy of the Fantastic Four is alive and well. And the book hinted at a grand cosmic conspiracy involving Celestials and modern-day heroes being haunted by dreams of their ancient ancestors.
What Legacy lacks in sheer emotion and self-aware introspection, it makes up for in the strength of its big ideas. And it's certainly helping to build my interest in the Legacy relaunch as a whole. I'm excited to see what's next for Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther knowing what we do now about the true nature of Wakanda. I want to continue Deadpool's journey in The Despicable Deadpool. I want to see Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm keep the Fantastic Four flame burning in Marvel Two-In-One. And I most definitely want to see more of the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC, wherever they happen to show up next. Presumably, writer Jason Aaron is hard at work on a new project featuring this group now that he's leaving the flagship Star Wars comic.
In a lot of ways, the differences between DC Universe Rebirth #1 and Marvel Legacy #1 embody the differing philosophies of these two companies as a whole. DC has a tendency to make grand, ambitious efforts at course-correction every decade or two. Stories like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Flashpoint were used to fundamentally alter the makeup and continuity of the DC multiverse. It wasn't enough for DC Universe Rebirth #1 to merely shift the story direction of the DCU. Johns sought to make the failings of the New 52 into a story all its own, revealing that that lost history was the result of Doctor Manhattan's meddling.
Marvel has never really gone for major, continuity-pruning stories like Crisis or Flashpoint. They rarely make a point of specifically throwing out entire chunks of their publishing history. Occasionally creators will fine-tune specific pieces of Marvel continuity where necessary (such as the creation of '50s-era Captain America William Burnside to explain those post-WWII Cap comics), but generally Marvel seems to prefer to look forward rather than dwelling on the past. That's neither inherently better or worse than DC's approach. It's simply the way things are done.
There's a certain degree of reflection involved with Legacy, as Marvel explores the way characters like Spider-Man, Thor and Wolverine have come to inspire a new generation of heroes and deals with important questions about how these different generations will coexist in the years to come. But at the end of the day, Legacy seems to be about the big ideas more than anything else. It's nothing more or less than a grand celebration of the Marvel Universe and all the rich storytelling opportunities it makes possible. Marvel Legacy #1 set a very strong example in that regard. The real question now is whether Marvel's various ongoing books can live up to that standard. If Marvel is going to climb out of the rut it's been trapped in these past few years, it'll to be through the power of bold, imaginative storytelling.
I want nothing more than to "Make Mine Marvel" again. But just as DC has over the past year, they're going to have to earn it by putting out some great comics.
"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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