Welcome to the preview of my comics reviews for 1987. The Crisis made a huge impact at DC and shook up the entire continuity. We already saw some of the effects in 1986, but 1987 will bring some major changes, including new titles and new histories for existing characters. As always, I’ll break this preview into blocks to reflect how I’ll be presenting the titles over the next six months.
Batman, Detective, Outsiders: In a way, Batman was the least effected of the 
big three, but one major change is in his origin. We’ll get the new (and supposedly definitive) Batman origin in the celebrated Year One storyline. We’ll also get the (somewhat less celebrated) Year Two, as well as a new origin for Jason Todd. We’ll also see the return of classic villains like Joker, Two-Face, and Scarecrow. The Outsiders will fight villains like Firefly, the Masters of Disaster, and Kobra’s new Strikeforce. They’ll also gain a new member when Windfall joins the team.
Justice League of America, All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars, Infinity Inc.: These titles will deal with the ramifications of Crisis in different ways.
JLA will end and begin anew, with a new team (and a new attitude) born of the Legends mini-series. All-Star Squadron will also end, to be replaced by Young All-Stars as Roy Thomas tries to mitigate some of the damage Crisis did to Golden Age continuity by finding replacements for stalwarts like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Roy will also have to deal with the JSAers’ children in Infinity Inc., who’ll find themselves facing the likes of Injustice Unlimited, Solomon Grundy, Hastor, and the Ultra-Humanite.
Legion of Super-Heroes, New Teen Titans, Suicide Squad: The Legion will have a major storyline involving the machinations of Universo, plus a two part story that tries to figure out how Superboy could have inspired them when he never existed in the new continuity. The Titans will face major threats like Brother Blood, Mento, and the Wildebeest. The first new title I’ll be adding is Suicide Squad, which also spun out of Legends. It concerns super-villains who are coerced into working for the government on dangerous assignments in exchange for their freedom … and yes, there will be casualties.
Wonder Woman, Firestorm, Vigilante, Warlord: The other new title I’m adding is Wonder Woman, who was wiped out of continuity and recreated
from scratch (or from clay, I guess). We’ll see her new origin (which leans heavily into Greek myth) and see the new versions of some classic characters like Steve Trevor, Etta Candy, and Cheetah. Firestorm will be fighting a new Parasite, the old Typhoon, and he’ll get mixed up with Valentina Vostok and the Suicide Squad. The Vigilante is once again Adrian Chase and he’ll try to reconcile his guilt with the good he can do outside the law. In Warlord, Travis Morgan’s quest comes to an end (finally!) and he runs into Power Girl, whose post-Crisis origin suggests that she’s not Kryptonian but Atlantean.
So, that’s what to expect for my 1987 reviews. I’ve read some of these comics (the new JLA, Warlord), but most of them are new to me, so I’m looking forward to some cool new stories. I hope you’ll join me as I check out these classics (and not-so-classics) and don’t hesitate to comment if you have something to say. My first 1987 review will be on Monday … hope to see you there!