Top 5 Fridays: Titles We (Mostly I) Want To See In 2014

DC Comics is going full throttle with the Futures End event coming in September, we've got preludes, titles jumping five years ahead, and most likely we'll have epilogues after the event is finished.  Even though we just got done Forever Evil and will probably be feeling the effects of said event for awhile longer, when do we have time to have new titles with regular non-event stories?  Well I don't have an answer for that, I just have a need to have a event free DCU for at least half a year.  It's just so much, and then to jump ahead to five years in the future to an event I'm lost on because we jumped ahead five years in the future, it just sounds so exhausting.  We need some breathing time in between DC, time to get our bearings straight, and to just sit back with a comic that doesn't depend on us reading four other titles to understand.  Okay ranting done, so for this week's Top 5 Friday I figure we'll look at some new titles that we want to see here at Weird Science before the end of the year.  Which is ridiculous to think about because it's only April, but the Futures End event will come fast and furious and before we know it, it will take us into the new year, so that's why we need something quick.  Here are the ones I want to see the most.  Let's check it out.



#5:  Plastic Man

OH GOD THE HORROR!

While I can't say that this is a conventional character that people are dying to see get his own title, what he is could just be the great fun title that people are looking for DC to put out.  Complaints have run rampant on the interwebs about how dark and depressing the New 52 has become since it started.  Simple fix, introduce this character to be the over the top, fun, bright looking character that everyone's been clamoring for.  Only problem I see introducing him is that we're only two and a half years into the New 52, and his timeline has already been fudged.  In the first issue of Justice League International when the United Nations were looking for members for the team, they looked at a picture of Plastic Man, and deemed him too "wacko".  That's all fine and good, but recently we saw Plastic Man get his all new origin in the very disturbing scene during the Forever Evil event.  So how can we have two very different timelines going on?  I wouldn't be a good awful fanboy unless I asked, so my job's done.  So for our #5 pick, we'd like to see Plastic Man have wild misadventures, while trying to figure out how to be a hero.  Let's move on.


#4:  Simon Baz

Like Plastic Man we may call this an unconventional choice as well.  I mean we've already got six Lantern titles, well five since Larfleeze is on the way out.  Why do we need to have another you ask, well because he's a badass that's why.  I have to be getting so annoying for all my rants about wanting to see this character in his own title, I'm surprised that people still read what I type, because it's usually about Simon Baz, or Damian Wayne, but at least I'm consistent.  So here we go again, from the time this character premiered in Green Lantern #0 I've been intrigued.  We have a character who wields the most powerful weapon in the universe, and just in case carries a gun as well.  Maybe Simon was a boy scout because this boy is certainly prepared for anything.  Joking aside we have a character who is so motivated by the way others perceive his race, and religion.  What we have here is a spring board for a great character driven story.  You see what I mean?  We could have a story about how a character sees others seeing him, especially wielding a Green Lantern ring.  Throw in B'dg for a Yoda like character showing him the ropes, and supplying a humorous go to for banter.  I say it's a win, but what do I know?  Well I know we could stand to have another team title, which leads us to.


#3  The Doom Patrol

Now we had a Doom Patrol that debuted during the Forever Evil event, but sadly they were short lived since each and everyone of them was brutally murdered.  All we were left with was Chief talking about starting over, and from recent solicits it looks like Justice League in July will feature the all new all deadly Doom Patrol.  But that's not what I want, I want a title featuring the misfit misunderstood characters I recognize and know, not all deadly why the hell would I want them to be all deadly?  Like I stated earlier about people complaining about the dark and moody New 52, what does a all new all deadly Doom Patrol do for us except darken the atmosphere more?  We need the cult fan favorites to be on the team and even though they're still misfits, they'd fight for a better tomorrow.   You know who I mean a re-imagined Mento, Elasti-Girl, Robot Man, and Negative Man, and hell if the Teen Titans keep giving Beast Boy the Chewbacca treatment, he can change his name to Changling, and go hang out with the Doom Patrol.  I've been waiting for this title to come out for awhile now, and you can image when I finally saw them, the disappointment I felt when they were immediately killed off.  As much as I've wanted them to get their own title, I've wanted two others to get their own even more, so let's go check that out.


#2:  Shazam

For all the hubbub that we had with the Shazam backups in Justice League it seemed like as soon as we concluded his origin story in Justice League #21 we'd be getting a Shazam solo title immediately.  But at that point we didn't know that that issue would lead into Trinity War that would lead into Forever Evil, and the inclusion of four new titles features stories that had to do with the Forever Evil event.  So I can understand why a new Shazam title couldn't be released during that time, but here we are with solicitations for July, and still no Shazam.  This is the re-imagining of a character I've been looking for during the New 52, while Billy Batson has become a bit of a snot, it's more realistic for this normal kid becoming the Mightiest Mortal.  A little snot that learns to be a hero, perfect.  I also really enjoyed the re-imaged Dr. Sivana and the nod to Mr. Mind, so this is a comic I have to see.  So get on this DC and make my year with one of my favorite heroes that has been left in the cold without his own title.  DO IT!  Okay so we only have one left, who deserves to have their own title the most?


#1:  Cyborg

Now how the hell doesn't Cyborg have his own title already?  It's crazy that he's the only member of the Justice League that is left without thrilling adventures, hell even Aquaman has two titles now but poor Vic Stone is left searching the interwebs for funny memes.  Now I've had the argument that he doesn't have his own title because he doesn't leave the Watchtower, but that doesn't mean he couldn't.  Especially now that he has a new sleeker body, and isn't all bogged down with Grumpy Cat, now is the time.  Hell I wouldn't even mind if he was teamed up with The Metal Men, who could be an honorable mention for #6 on this list.  Cyborg is just such a cool character, and it just feels that all we know about this New 52 version is that he has a troubled history with his father.  So much potential wasted.  The only reason I can see he doesn't is as a punishment for vouching for Atomica when the Justice League added recruits.  Which is still a mystery on how a person who only appeared five years ago gets past Cyborg's background checks, but I'm getting off point.  Do I have to pull the race card here?  Is Cyborg excluded from his own title simply because he's a black man?  No I didn't think so, that wouldn't be right.  So let's end this year off with Cyborg staring in his own thrilling book full of techno tyrants he can take down one at a time.


That's our list for the week, and I'm really satisfied with it.  All great characters that have been left out of the cool superheroes club for not having their own title.  Well hopefully DC changes this, and starts announcing great new titles for this year.  Booster Gold would of made the list, but it looks like he'll be getting his own title in September for the Futures End event.  Whether that's an on going or a mini just for the event I don't know, but it's his own title so we at least get that for 2014.  All you DC fanboys and girls out there tell me your list, and maybe if we make enough noise DC will give us what we want so we can stop our tantrum, and get on with reading some awesome comics.  That's it for now, see you in seven.  Boosh!