We’ve proven you our most promising class of characters to debut this 12 months. However, 2022 wasn’t only a 12 months for brand new heroes, but additionally an elevation for others lengthy established. You by no means know when a lesser identified character goes to get their likelihood at a lift to the subsequent stage, or an sudden darkish horse emerges from the pack. But yearly, it’s inevitable that some breakouts in our solid of hundreds will get their second within the solar. These are the best superhero glow-ups we noticed in 2022.
Peacemaker and Judomaster
The transition to the DC Universe from Charlton Comics within the Nineteen Eighties was simpler for some heroes than others. Captain Atom grew to become a member of the Justice League and is one of essentially the most highly effective lively superheroes right now. The Question bought a beloved collection by Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan, and a fanbase in Justice League Unlimited. Blue Beetle has a legacy which can see him make the bounce to a significant movie—and really presumably this checklist—subsequent 12 months. Peacemaker and Judomaster, then again… Well, other than a miniseries right here and a cameo there, they haven’t seen a lot motion. Last 12 months’s The Suicide Squad took Christopher Smith off the shelf, however it was in 2022’s Peacemaker that the silver helmeted lug actually bought his likelihood at redemption—to not point out a reunion with Judomaster, a fellow alum of the Charlton Class. Now, Peacemaker’s bought everybody dancing.
The Joker
Season three of Harley Quinn gave us the whole lot we might need from a full-blown, no-hiding #HarlIvy relationship, however it additionally gave us one of one of the best Joker tales ever: one the place he not solely runs for mayor of Gotham City and wins, however seems to truly be actually good at it. School attendance is up, crime is down, healthcare is offered to all, the corrupt GCPD is totally defunded, and billionaire scoundrel Bruce Wayne is lastly behind bars for tax evasion. We’re all lining as much as be part of the Sane Clown Posse.
Vixen, Zatanna and the Outlaws
One of the most important runaway successes of 2021 was the Bat-Family’s transition to slice-of-life WEBTOON collection Batman: Wayne Family Adventures. This 12 months noticed the burgeoning WEBTOON-verse (Earth-W?) develop fourfold, with three vastly completely different however equally partaking new collection: Vixen NYC, which strikes a younger Mari McCabe into the large metropolis as she grows into her powers; Zatanna and the Ripper, catapulting Zatanna and John Constantine again in time to catch London’s most notorious serial killer; and the chaotic adventures of Red Hood: Outlaws, through which Red Hood, Artemis and Bizarro fill in for the Justice League. Getting to see some of DC’s much less mainstream heroes have room to breathe in weekly, year-round collection has actually given them area to develop and for followers to maintain on spending time—oh man, am I out of Coins once more?
Tim Drake
Seems like DC actually DOES love the ’90s as a result of the primary Robin to decide on the mantle for himself is again in enterprise as Batman’s go-to accomplice in the principle Batman collection, has his personal ongoing collection once more for the primary time in over a decade, a model new boyfriend to be charmingly awkward round, and most significantly, is straight up ROBIN once more. Love the Drake! Big fan of the Drake. How might you not just like the Drake?
Razer
After Green Lantern: The Animated Series ended its run in 2013, no one anticipated to see collection deuteragonist Razer, the reformed Red Lantern, ever once more. Left adrift in area on a quest for his misplaced love with redemption trailing behind him, the story appeared to finish there with an emblem of hope and nothing extra. In 2022, we bought the subsequent chapter in Razer’s story in essentially the most sudden of locations, a complete episode devoted to him in HBO Max’s Young Justice: Phantoms. Years of manipulation by the New God Metron and a reunion together with his former touring companion Kilowog led Razer to develop into the primary Lantern to wield the pink and blue rings collectively, forging a brand new path ahead for himself. Where he’ll present up subsequent, who can say? But perhaps we haven’t seen the top of his journey in any case. There’s at all times Hope.
Jackson Hyde and Supergirl
The DC Universe has at all times been strongest when the lengthy arc of a legacy hero pays off to indicate them turning into one thing greater than they ever have been earlier than, rising into icons in their very own proper. In 2022, two heroes within the DC Universe considerably stepped up: Jackson Hyde, the son of Black Manta, who grew into his function as the brand new Aquaman, and Supergirl, who because the Woman of Tomorrow launched into an epic area odyssey which proved that she possesses all the ability, dedication and goodness of her cousin after which some. Although their journeys of self-discovery have taken them via completely different trials, they’ve each ended up in the identical place—because the heroes of their very own story.
The Riddler
We’ve seen your fanart, you animals. And truthfully, we will’t completely blame you. Paul Dano’s efficiency because the Riddler on this 12 months’s The Batman wasn’t one thing any of us have been anticipating, however there’s one thing about his relationship with Batman, which turns a 74-year-old dynamic on its head. Edward Nashton views Gotham’s younger vigilante not as an adversary, however an mental collaborator and accomplice—the right physique to his good mind. You might snicker about him having 500 followers, however what number of of your mutuals would strap up and invade a political rally for you? It’s a particular variety of freak who’s into this explicit Patrick Parker, however you can’t deny that freak is down dangerous.
Constantine
There are sizzling messes, and there are Hot Messes. The latter is at all times synonymous with Constantine, the smoldering scourge of thaumaturgy. But in a bit of intelligent double casting, Netflix’s The Sandman took what we knew concerning the DCU’s most disastrous bisexual and switched it up on us by presenting the standard John Constantine as Jenna Coleman’s Johanna. Whether she’s prettier to have a look at than Matt Ryan comes right down to a matter of desire, however we will solely think about the actual Constantine wouldn’t say no to sharing a cig with both. (And he does exist—simply ask anybody who’s ever written him.) What Johanna Constantine does present us is that it doesn’t matter what type Constantine takes, once you get combined up of their path, you’re at all times in for a hell of a time.
The JSA
2022 was a banner 12 months for the world’s first superhero group. Mixing it up on the large display screen with Black Adam, a restoration of their legacy in Stargirl and standing on the forefront of The New Golden Age within the comics, the JSA has been profitable a conflict on three fronts, dominating DC’s movie, tv and comedian books. After a decade of obscurity, it’s secure to say as of this 12 months that the Justice Society has been restored to their rightful place in DC historical past. Exactly what their place in DC’s future could also be lies within the fingers of Courtney Whitmore, on a quest to redeem the misplaced sidekicks of the previous, and the unique Huntress—not mob daughter Helena Bertinelli, however Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle’s daughter Helena Wayne, now from the long run herself.
The Titans
DC wasn’t joking earlier this 12 months once they declared the dying of the Justice League in Justice League #75. The members could also be again, however the group as we all know it’s over. Emerging from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths are the world’s new premiere A-List protectors…the Titans. The subsequent era of superheroes is all set as much as take heart stage, with Dick Grayson main the pack. And after seeing how they’ve navigated this newest Crisis, we all know in addition to the unique Justice League lineup that Earth couldn’t be in higher fingers. Titans Together!
Alex Jaffe is the creator of our month-to-month “Ask…the Question” column and writes about TV, films, comics and superhero historical past for DC.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlexJaffe and discover him within the DC Community as HubCityQuestion.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of Alex Jaffe and don’t essentially mirror these of DC Entertainment or Warner Bros.
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