DC Comics Chief Creative Officer and Publisher Jim Lee denied over the weekend that a reboot of the DC Universe dubbed “5G” is on the way.
In a video message that aired during DC FanDome: Welcome to the Multiverse, Lee shot down reports of a planned reboot – 5G or otherwise – as untrue rumor and speculation.
“There won’t be a project called ‘5G’, or a big reboot, or whatever,” he said, adding there will be a focus on individualizing titles and character for a more organic buildup of the line.
“We really want to focus on individual titles, and organically build up individual characters over…the next year,” Lee continued.
He further explained, instead of renumbering books and going for broke to spike sales for a month, the goal is to incorporate story ideas into the growing “mythology.”
“We had a lot of great ideas that we were floating around,” he stated.
“And rather than dumping it all in one month and renumbering the line and going for that really short term spike in sales, we just naturally gravitated to the story ideas and concepts we love and building them into the mythology, the ongoing mythology, in a very organic way,” he continued.
With that said, Lee declared point-blank 5G isn’t coming because it isn’t happening. “If you’re waiting for ‘5G,’ you’re going to have to wait for a long time because it’s not going to happen,” he said.
Lee then went on to put over DC’s “big developments” headed our way in 2021 (from what will remain of the line), without getting specific.
He teased, “Pretty big ones in 2021 across the board, but again it’s spread out and approached organically when it makes sense within a particular title so not everything has to tie into a big epic event all at once.”
So it seems 5G died with the firing of Dan DiDio. Embracing the vast continuity of DC canon as opposed to running from it, 5G was his baby he pushed at several turns while in power.
DiDio was unsure if the idea would “reach fruition” and intimated as much in an hour long YouTube talk with Dan Shahin last June.
Little is clear about what the reboot entailed exactly, but reportedly Wonder Woman would’ve become the “first superhero” upon making contact with Man at the dawn of World War 2.
Related — Report: DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio Exits Company
Further, the prevailing thought is established characters were getting replaced and potentially “race-bent.” Batman was alleged as one on the auction block.
A Caped Crusader of color was promised a debut by 2021 which turned out to be true apart from a brand-wide reboot, through the limited series written by screenwriter John Ridley.
For now, there’s no reboot on the horizon for the comics but I suppose we’ll see. Interestingly, the film universe is getting one, conversely, in The Flash minus the print stuff following suit.
What do you make of Lee’s comments? Are you glad that a reboot of DC Comics will not be happening or are you saddened by the prospect?