User blog:S11mkrieger/Bringing the Magic Back

''This article was originally written May 16, 2012 and posted on my Blogger account. I've reposted it to retain my work.'' In case you missed it, Saturday May 5th was National Free Comic Book Day, and it hit DC readers with a big one. The New 52: Free Comic Book Day Special Edition gave readers a chance to delve into the magical portion of DC continuity, and what's happened to the supernatural forces since the events of Flashpoint.

If you were into the magical side of the DC Universe before the New 52, you may know that the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos(two mystical factions that represented the ever-present conflict between Order and Chaos respectively) as well as the wizard Shazam were murdered by The Spectre. This conflict ended the "Ninth Age of Magic" and reduced magic to it's most basic form of raw power. Since then magic sort of fell behind in the DC Universe, up until the Flashpoint event. This event introduced a character called Pandora, of such great magical power she managed to help Flash recreate reality and fuse the DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm universes into the supposed "DCnU". With the New 52 magic made a slow comeback in DC, with series like Justice League Dark, I, Vampire, and Demon Knights. Then DC dropped a load of gold for magic-loving DC readers in theThe New 52: FCBD when they gave us a glimpse into several magic-oriented members of the DCU. My favorite segment was Pandora's trial by the council of the Rock of Eternity(As can be seen at the top of the article). For a little story behind that, the Rock of Eternity was home to Shazam, the one who gave Captain Marvel his powers. In this we see that Pandora opened the mythical Pandora's Box, releasing "tragedy and torment and torture" into the world of man, against the wishes of the council. Between this and the return of Shazam this time as the young boy Billy Batson, original identity of Captain Marvel, it seems like magic is due to make a big showing in the new DCU.

So what can DC do to make this even better? How about the return of Doctor Fate? When the Spectre went on his little rampage and slaughtered the Lords of Order, he also took the down the famous Nabu, true identity of Doctor Fate. I know in my last post I said the DCU needs to move forward instead of digging up the past, but Superboy and Nightwing have the potential to be everything their predecessors were. Doctor Fate though? His helmet is all that remains, and it's lost it's greatest component. Having that mysterious entity controlling Doctor Fate was a great plot point to what otherwise would have been a guy with a magic helmet. I'm not saying bring back Nabu, I'm all for killing old characters to continue the natural succession of the DCU. The problem is there was no one to replace him. Up until Flashpoint Doctor Fate had literally become a guy with a magic helmet. I'd suggest having another magical entity replace Nabu in the Helmet of Fate from this point on. Maybe a council-member from the Rock of Eternity gets fed-up with the state of the world and decides to take control of a mortal to fight evil? With a little tweaking bringing back Doctor Fate is entirely possible, and seeing him at the head of the Justice League Dark would definitely be a memorable moment.

So, I for one am excited about the return of magic to DC, and I hope it plays a big part in the future. I'd like to see someone new take up the mantle of Doctor Fate, but until then I'm excited to see where the new Shazam will go, especially with that glimpse of a redesigned Black Adam in The New 52: FCBD Special Edition.

The Culling will be coming up in the pages of Teen Titans, Superboy, Legion Lost, and The Ravagers, so expect a post then as I'm cautiously excited about DC's newest series.

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