Over the course of the last 10 years, DC Comics has made some rather significant changes to their superhero universe. While some creative decisions have only affected one character, others have had a massive impact on the entire universe all at once.
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While some of these changes have remained, there are plenty of changes that just haven't stuck around. Be it for creative reasons, fan disapproval, or whatever else, DC has backtracked on many major decisions for one reason or another. Looking at some of the bigger ones, here is our list of the 10 biggest changes DC has made in the last decade (that didn't last).
10 The Justice Society
The Justice Society of America has undergone several changes within the DC universe in the past decade. Following the launch of the New 52, the team of Golden Age superheroes was once again removed from the main DC universe and moved back to Earth 2 in their own series. After several years, Earth 2 eventually concluded and the JSA was no longer a part of DC in any way.
Since the launch of DC Rebirth, however, clues had consistently been given to signal the return of the heroes. Now, thanks to Scott Snyder's run on Justice League and the conclusion of Doomsday Clock, the classic heroes are once again back among the mainstream DC universe. With so much back and forth for the team recently, fans can only hope that they will stick around for good this time.
9 Aquaman and The Others
After completely reinventing Aquaman for the modern era, author Geoff Johns' approach to the character remains one of the strongest points in Aquaman's history. As part of the second arc in his run, Johns introduced The Others, a group of Atlantean superhumans who assisted Aquaman in his war against Black Manta.
The Others were actually interesting enough to receive their own short-lived series following their arc in the main Aquaman series, though they weren't exactly the type of team that could sustain a series for an extended period of time. Likewise, since Johns left the title, The Others have scarcely been seen, making them one of the most forgettable new teams from the decade.
8 Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps
Following Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern, author Robert Venditti actually managed to maintain a lot of momentum within the series. At one point in his run, Hal Jordan actually underwent a pretty significant change, becoming an outlaw and taking on a radically different outfit.
Over the course of several issues, Hal was on the run, the rest of the Green Lantern Corps disappeared, and Parallax made a return. Surprisingly, a lot of these changes were still welcomed by fans, and didn't last long enough to where they overstayed their welcome. By the end of the story arc, Venditti had the perfect basis for relaunching the series into the Rebirth era, where he continued to do great work for Green Lantern.
7 New Age of DC Heroes
Shortly after the conclusion of the acclaimed Dark Nights: Metal series, DC launched several new titles centered on entirely new heroes. Known as the New Age of DC Heroes, almost every one of these series was cancelled shortly over a year from being released.
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Interestingly enough, many of these series saw positive response from readers. Though not every title was a massive success, it was still an intriguing way to introduce several new heroes at once. At the moment, The Terrifics is the only series currently still going from the line, making this one of the biggest and most immediate backtracks from the publisher this decade.
6 Grayson
DC's Forever Evil event led to some massive changes for several characters within the universe. However, no one was likely affected more than Dick Grayson, who was unmasked during the event and forced to retire the mantle of Nightwing.
From there, Dick became a superspy agent of Spyral, carrying out missions for the organization while also investigating some of their own shady practices. While the series was actually very well written, many fans longed for the character to return to his former title. Thankfully, as part of Rebirth, Dick not only resumed being Nightwing once again, but also returned to his classic blue and black suit from before the New 52.
5 The Costumes
With the launch of the New 52, virtually every DC hero underwent a redesign in their costume in an effort to "modernize" a lot of the characters. Because of this, almost every superhero traded in their colorful trunks for a more armored and practical appearance that worked for some heroes but definitely didn't work for others.
After several years with the same outfits, many DC heroes' appearances slowly began to change. With Rebirth, however, almost everyone is back to their original look, prior to the New 52. Batman and Superman especially have returned to wearing their trunks, making the universe feel as though most of it is back to when DC was telling some of their strongest stories.
4 Jim Gordon Batman
One of the biggest changes to Batman in the decade was when DC and Scott Snyder established Jim Gordon as Batman. Following one of his deadliest battles with the Joker yet, Bruce Wayne and Batman mysteriously disappeared, leaving the mantle open to other takers.
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While Jim Gordon may seem like an odd choice to replace the Dark Knight, it was interesting to explore how someone like Batman would work within the law. While it was clear that Bruce would return eventually, the Gordon arc did feel as though it had gone on a bit longer than it needed to. Regardless, it remains one of the biggest changes in DC that didn't last.
3 Goddess of War Wonder Woman
Having already done a lot for Wonder Woman as a character, Brian Azzarello took things even further by establishing Diana as the Goddess of War. While this may seem like a step in the wrong direction for the character, Diana actually explains her position in that she understands war, rather than practices it.
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Furthermore, she goes on to explain that while she may understand conflict, she also doesn't need to encourage it, even in her new position. This actually proved to be a rather interesting exploration of Wonder Woman's psyche and, though her title didn't last too long, was one of the better changes made throughout the New 52.
2 The New 52 in General
In 2011, the New 52 was launched as a way to make the DC universe more accessible to new readers. However, a lot of history was rearranged or completely erased, effectively alienating a lot of long-term fans of DC Comics. Many noted that most of the changes felt rather unnecessary, or were completely unwarranted altogether.
While some good things did come out of the New 52, it is understandable that some fans would be upset with so many big changes being made all at once. For five years, DC continued on the path of the New 52 until they launched Rebirth as a means of course correcting. Since then, the DC universe has almost completely reverted back to the way it was before the New 52, making many fans happy in the process.
1 Superman
Between all other DC characters, no one has arguably been changed more throughout the decade than Superman. At the start of the New 52, Clark was one of the most significant departures from his previous personality. From there, the character was given new powers, a romantic relationship with Wonder Woman, depowered, and died.
From there, the older version of the character that everyone loved became the main Superman, had a son, changed reality so he was always part of the universe, and faced off against Dr. Manhattan. For all the changes that have been made recently, Superman seems to have taken most of them. Likewise, he always seems to revert back to his original self, even if it takes some time to do so.
NEXT: DC: 10 Biggest Changes To Superman This Decade
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