DC Comics was on fire in the ’00s. The publisher had weathered the tumults of the ’90s much better than their marvelous competition, and had a corps of brilliant writers and artists. 2005 happened to be the 20th anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths, with Infinite Crisis undoing some of the changes of the post-Crisis DC Universe. The rest of the line would jump a year forward after that blockbuster event ended, but the book 52 would tell the story of the missing year. This weekly series from writers Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka, Grant Morrison, and Keith Giffen, with Giffen providing art breakdowns for an army of artists, focused on a group of B and C-list heroes as they navigated the new post-Infinite Crisis world.
52 was a perfect example of a weekly series done right, the book constantly being the most talked about comic on the internet when it was coming out, which coincided with Marvel’s Civil War. It also marked the best story ever for some of DC’s most beloved characters. These seven character were at their best in 52, and have never been able to reach that level again.
Steel was introduced in the aftermath of the ’90s blockbuster “Death of Superman”. He would get his own series, join the Justice League, and become an ancillary member of the Superman Family, but had mostly faded from popularity by the time of 52, mostly appearing in the background of the big fights. The story saw him end up helping Lex Luthor, who was creating technology to make anyone a metahuman. However, he soon discovered that the whole thing was a trick, because it was Luthor, and battled against Superman’s greatest enemy. It was his biggest win ever, defeating a Luthor scheme completely on his own, and has yet to be matched by him (even though 2023’s Steelworks is pretty awesome).
Rip Hunter is a time-traveling character who was introduced in the Silver Age, a sci-fi hero like Cave Carson that existed alongside the heroes. In 52, Booster Gold wanted to talk to him because time wasn’t going the way it was supposed to but he had disappeared, leaving a cryptic blackboard of clues, leading Booster on a search for the time-traveling hero. He eventually found him and the two teamed up to unravel the secret of the number 52, leading to the book’s final showdown. Rip hadn’t had a major story in years, but even counting his old stories, his appearance in 52 is his best.
Captain Marvel, formerly known as Shazam, has some amazing villains, with the Venusian worm Mr. Mind being one of the most dangerous, despite also being one of the most innocuous looking. He’s the secret villain of 52, manipulating the instability of the universe after Infinite Crisis in order to recreate the multiverse for his own twisted purposes. Mind is a little too silly to seem dangerous in the modern day, but 52 changed that, showing his ultimate form and how easy it is to take a villain that was once a joke and make them into a potential star. This was the pinnacle of his time as a villain, and he’s not reached it since.
Vic Sage was the humble defender of Hub City, a man trying to learn the answers to every mystery as the Question. The character has had some amazing stories over the years (basically anything Denys Cowan drew or Denny O’Neil wrote), but his role in 52 allowed him to connect with the readers of the ’00s like never before. He hunted down Renee Montoya and asked for her help investigating a religion based on crime, all while hiding a secret from her – that he was dying. This was Vic at his most human, trying to make an actual connection with a human being before his death and leave the world with a better Question than him. It was his best modern story and one of the reasons that 52 is a masterpiece for fans of the Question.
Renee Montoya was on a tear in the ’00s. She was in her disaster lesbian phase in Gotham Central, one of the best Big Two crime comics ever, and she entered 52 at her lowest ebb, having lost her job at the GCPD after the death of her partner Crispus Allen. As discussed in the last entry, she ended up working with the Question, as he surreptitiously trained her to take his place. We meet Kate Kane, the new Batwoman, for the first time, learning about their former relationship, and see Renee use all of her skills to save the day as the new Question. Renee had just come off an amazing run in Gotham Central and yet her role in 52 somehow surpassed it.
Booster Gold is a highly underrated hero and 52 would prove it. The story started with him thinking that he was going to be the catalyst for the formation of a new Justice League, but things occurred differently. This led to him hunting down Rip Hunter and learning of a secret threat to existence that only he could stop. Look, if you would have told fans that Booster Gold would be the centerpiece of a yearlong story that brought back the multiverse and it was outstanding in 2004, none of them would have believed you. This story led to a re-evaluation of the character that would get him an ongoing series, but it’s still the superior Booster story (although that series is amazing and worth checking out).
Black Adam became huge in the ’00s, thanks to writer Geoff Johns and JSA. He became one of the co-leads of 52 (Booster and Renee being other two) and had the most tragic story. The events of Infinite Crisis made him devote himself to his violent brand of heroism. He became a beloved hero, helping refugees and creating the Black Marvel Family with Adrianna Tomaz and her brother Amon after falling in love with Adrianna, becoming Isis and Osiris respectively. Everything was going fine, but a new enemy’s attack on Black Adam drove him to insanity, endangering the whole world in his rage. His story in 52 was a roller coaster ride, showing why he was both an amazing hero and a perfect villain. He’s starred in some great stories over the years (his 2021 maxiseries is outstanding, as are “Black Reign” and “Black Vengeance”), but this one remains his best.
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