DC has been publishing comics for over eighty years, with some of the greatest comics of all time being published by the company. DC revolutionized the superhero, introducing the first costumed hero, the first super team, and the most popular vigilante ever. There is a lot to love in DC Comics for fans, including some of the best event comics of all time.
Event stories can be a hit or a miss, though, and there are some DC event books that for whatever reason just don’t stand up as well as they used to. They aren’t bad stories but they’ve gotten an undue amount of praise.
10 The Dark Knight Returns Is An Undisputed Classic But It Has A Bad Look Now
The Dark Knight Returns, by writer/artist Frank Miller, is hard to say anything bad about. It’s one of the most important Batman stories of all time and, along with Watchmen, Squadron Supreme, and Maus, is responsible for the maturation of the medium. The problem comes in that the story basically recasts Batman as a fascist.
Miller can be very hit or miss and by now, his tropes aren’t as well-loved as they were in 1985. His Batman has a lot of issues and while the story is still important and entertaining, it just doesn’t stand up as well, especially when compared to the rest of the class of ’85.
9 Batman: Three Jokers Got Hyped To The Moon But Didn’t Deliver
Batman: Three Jokers, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jason Fabok, was set up by DC: Rebirth #1 and is one of the few plotlines from that book that Johns paid off. Unfortunately, the book kind of failed in its execution. The three Jokers didn’t really make much sense how it was done and by the end, the whole thing was returned to the status quo.
Beyond that, the reveal that Batman always knew who The Killing Joke Joker was and that Jason Todd was in love with Barbara Gordon just didn’t work very well. The art is amazing but the story just couldn’t deliver.
8 Dark Knights: Metal Was A Lot Of Fun But The Ending Kind Of Fizzled
Dark Knights: Metal, by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, was built throughout their Batman run and while it had the requisite spectacle, it didn’t exactly deliver. Synder built up a great conflict but the problem comes in that the book didn’t really pay it off. The Dark Knights and Barbatos were great antagonists but were taken down way too easily.
In retrospect, it kind of makes everything else in the series seem not as important because the villains got beat so easily. Plus, it was the debut of the Batman Who Laughs, a character who started great but wore out his welcome quickly.
7 Death Metal’s Ending Was Worth It But The Rest Of The Book Doesn’t Work
Death Metal, by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, is the sequel to Metal, and while its ending has brought about a new era for DC, the story itself was lacking. From the fact that the Batman Who Laughs became the main villain to the way it sort of meandered its way to the end, Death Metal fizzled out in too many places.
There are some bright spots to the story but it doesn’t all stand up. It felt like it was a lot longer than it was and its blatant Batman Who Laughs worship turned off a lot of fans, especially since Perpetua had been built up so much in Snyder’s Justice League.
6 Justice League: Origin Was The Inaugural New 52 Story & That’s The Problem
The New 52 has a bitter legacy and that affected Justice League: Origin, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee. It told the story of the New 52 Justice League’s origin and the genesis of the DC Universe during that era. Pitting the team against Darkseid, it has tremendous art but the curse of the New 52 hit it.
The story propelled DC sales at the time but going back and reading it, it just doesn’t stand up very well. A timeless story is timeless, regardless of continuity changes, but Justice League: Origin doesn’t have that quality.
5 Event: Leviathan Didn’t Live Up To The Hype
Brian Michael Bendis coming to DC was a huge deal, especially after his role in shepherding the Marvel Universe through the 21st century. Known for writing Marvel’s event books, Bendis got a chance to tell a big story in Event: Leviathan, where he was joined by frequent artistic collaborator Alex Maleev. Pitting the DC heroes against new spy organization Leviathan, the big reveal was the weakest part of the book.
Having former Manhunter Mark Shaw revealed to be the leader of Leviathan was the nail in the coffin for this book, as the character had never shown the skill needed to be the big bad of a powerful new spy organization. It’s a good book but it could have been better.
4 Forever Evil Doesn’t Really Stand Up To Re-Reading
The New 52’s event books aren’t exactly great. The best of them is Forever Evil, by writer Geoff Johns and artist David Finch. Building out of Johns’ Justice League, the story saw the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3 defeat the League and attack the rest of the DC Universe, with the only people standing against them Lex Luthor and a ragtag team of villains.
Forever Evil has its moments but it often feels like Johns picking his favorite villains and glossing over their crimes to make them seem heroic. It worked at the time but reading it now, it often feels juvenile and cliché.
3 Blackest Night Went Too Far In The Grimdark Direction
Blackest Night, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Ivan Reis, is the culmination of Johns’ Green Lantern run. Pitting the heroes of the DC Universe against the Black Lantern Corps, the story was beloved at the time but reading it now, it’s a bit too grimdark. While that makes sense to an extent for a story like this one, it doesn’t work the best anymore.
The weirdest thing is the contrast the series tries for, as it starts out really grim and tries to end on a hopeful note. It doesn’t really land because of how grim the whole thing was and the ending feels overbooked, as big things keep happening and each doesn’t have a chance to be resolved before the next one hits.
2 Flashpoint Could Have Used A Few More Issues
Flashpoint, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Andy Kubert, heralded the New 52 and that’s one point against it. The story itself has a lot going for it, as the Flash went back in time to save his mother with disastrous consequences. The alternate universe it created was actually pretty intriguing but the problem comes in that it’s only five issues.
Flashpoint often feels rushed. There’s no real villain and while that’s a novel approach for an event book, the final battle really doesn’t have a lot of stakes because it doesn’t matter to the book’s actual conflict. It has a good set-up and it could have been a lot better if the story got to breathe more.
1 Infinite Crisis Didn’t Have The Impact That It Felt Like It Was Going To Have
Infinite Crisis is a strange bird. Written by Geoff Johns with art by Phil Jimenez, George Perez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, the story served as a sequel to the classic Crisis On Infinite Earths. It had an amazing build-up and is full of big moments. While it rightly deserves its reputation as one of the best DC events of the 21st century, there’s a lot about it that doesn’t work as well as it should.
One of the problems with the story is that the ending really didn’t have a lot of impact, something that feels weird for a sequel to CoIE. It delivered on the big action but divorced from its build-up, it doesn’t have the same impact it once did because its ending didn’t herald the changes its predecessor did.
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