What The Nu52 Needs Right Now

You know what DC needs most right now?

Not just Plastic Man--although Plastic Man would be a hoot. But Plas is far too ungritty and unserious for the emotionally enervating and humorless nu52. DC would just stick him with Ambush Bug in the pointless and lame Channel 52 back-up, with the satire and edge neutered in favor of the stale-and-in-no-way-dated Anchorman riff.

But what DC really needs is some sense of self-deprecation, some ability to poke fun at themselves. I mean, look at that splash above--DC actually published that!! They actually put out a book featuring a story whose sole point was to mock them (and Marvel) for their faux-grittiness and event-itis. Can you imagine?

Nowadays, of course, that could never happened. In an age where Dan DiDio can bury an Ambush Bug series finale for over a year--and then replace it with tripe--because he found some of the jokes hit too close to home, it's clear that the current DC elite would never allow anyone in-house to turn a jaundiced eye upon themselves, to wink and nod with the audience, to be even mildly self-satirical. Which is pretty ironic, given how many MAD Magazine variant covers they publish.

But what the hell, DC...bring back Plas. Give him his own series, or just the occasional special that this story came from (Plastic Man Special #1 (1999)). Bring back Ty Templeton, and let him run slightly amok. [Aside--this piece of Ty's is pretty funny and pretty on-target.] Show that you're grown-ups and can have a sense of humor about yourselves. And hell, just to bring some variety to your increasingly homogenous nu52.

Yeah, I know, it'll never happen. But a Monstrobot can hope...