After being delayed for several days DC Comics finally released their new solicitations for March 2019. With a brand new set of solicitations comes a lot of new comics to be excited for. Leading the way for DC will be the landmark Detective Comics #1000 issue that will feature big name creators. Along with that landmark issue March also big revelations in Heroes In Crisis, someone possibly learning Superman’s secret, the Justice League entering the Sixth Dimension and much more. Let’s take a look at all of DC Comics plans for March 2019 in their brand new solicitations.
BATMAN WHO LAUGHS BRINGS IN A GRIM KNIGHT
The Batman Who Laughs gained an instant fanbase from the moment he made his presence known in Dark Nights: Metal. The character’s popularity has recently led to him getting his own mini-series. Now that popularity has gotten to a point where a character directly related to him is getting their own spinoff one-shot in the form The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight #1. This new one-shot will be written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion with artwork from Eduardo Risso. Given the look to the Grim Knight there is a lot of potential in exploring a Punisher-esque Batman, which we have seen only a few times over the long lifespan of the character.
EVERYONE IS ALL IN ON DETECTIVE COMICS #1000
In March Detective Comics will reach their landmark thousandth issue. To celebrate Detective Comics #1000 DC is assembling an all-star line-up of talent to write and draw different Batman stories. On the writer’s side the issue will feature stories from Peter Tomasi, Brian Bendis, Tom King, Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, Kevin Smith, Scott Snyder and many more. Paired along with these legendary writers are the magnificent talents of Doug Mahnke, Neal Adams, Greg Capullo, Tony Daniels, Jim Lee, Joelle Jones and other great artists.
The line-up that DC Comics has assembled is more than enough to make Detective Comics #1000 a must buy. What I’ll be most interested in from all the stories we will get is what Peter Tomasi brings to the table. Having recently started his run on Detective Comics it won’t be surprising if the 1000th issue will set the stage for all the big plans he has for his run on the series.
HEROES IN CRISIS GETTING MORE CONTROVERSIAL
Heroes In Crisis is an event that is in the news for various reasons. The latest cover for Heroes In Crisis #7 teases the fact that Wally West, aka the Flash, may have a greater hand in what happened in Sanctuary than we were initially led to believe. Given that on the cover Poison Ivy drew the Flash symbol the only one this could be a clue about is Wally West. This is definitely something that will lead to many discussion, especially after Heroes In Crisis #7’s release. If what is teased can be believed Wally fans will either be very intrigued or extremely upset. Which one fans fall under will all be left to how Tom King executes this major story development.
DEATHSTROKE VS TEEN TITANS
Under Robin, Damian Wayne’s, leadership the Teen Titans have gone down a much darker path with how they handle various villains. That has meant that things have not been easy for a team made up of a lot of newbie superheroes. Things won’t get easier in March as Teen Titans #28 begins the crossover with the Deathstroke ongoing series.
Anytime Deathstroke gets involved with the Teen Titans it is something to keep an eye on. Hopefully this latest clash between Deathstroke and the Teen Titans will be better than the disappointing Lazarus Contract that took place last year. With the focus being on just the Teen Titans and Deathstroke that should easily be able to be accomplish. That said I won’t hold out to much hope even as I keep my eye on how “The Terminus Agenda” turns out.
AMANDA WALLER LEARNS SUPERMAN’S SECRET
One of the most intriguing aspects of Amanda Waller’s character in the Justice League cartoon is that she heavily implied she knew everyone’s secret identity, including Batman’s. That hasn’t been the case with the comic book version of the character. Now that may change in Action Comics #1009 as Brian Bendis is teasing Clark Kent revealing himself as Superman to Amanda Waller. This is definitely one way to put over how great of a threat Leviathan is. I’m still interested to see if this version of Leviathan is the same one that we saw in Grant Morrison’s Batman Inc. run, in which Talia Al Ghul was the leader of.
THE ORIGINAL TRICKSTER RETURNS TO TERRORIZE THE FLASH
Since introducing the existence of other types of Forces beyond the Speed Force The Flash series has not focused on the Rogues Gallery very much. That is not something that is surprising since introducing a new major concept needs time to develop. But with how much time has been dedicated to develop the Strength and other Forces having Flash go up against the original Trickster will be a nice change of pace. With how much things have changed since the Trickster last reign of terror on Central City it’ll be interesting to see the tweaks Joshua Williams makes to the villain to make him a formidable foe for The Flash.
JUSTICE LEAGUE ENTER THE SIXTH DIMENSION
The major conflict around the Source Wall is going to reach another level as Mr. Mxyzptlk helps the Justice League enter the Sixth Dimension. Entering the Sixth Dimension looks to lead the Justice League to meet an alternate, older version of themselves. From the cover alone it seems like this meeting won’t be a peaceful one. Both Justice League teams seem to instantly break out into a Civil War of sorts. What exactly the Sixth Dimension leads to in the greater scope that Scott Snyder is developing for the franchise will be interesting to see continue to play out.
WHO WILL TAKE OVER THE NIGHTWING ONGOING SERIES?
There is some drama around Nightwing that has nothing to do with Dick Grayson being shot in the head. Nightwing #58 was marked as the start of Scott Lobdell transitioning out as writer for the series with Eric Esquivel tapped to take over. That is not happening anymore as Eric Esquivel has been dropped by DC Comics after serious sexual abuse allegations were made against him. You can read all about it over at the Hollywood Reporter’s write up and update of the allegations. Given everything that has come to light DC Comics had to take Esquivel off Nightwing, which they have along with immediately canceling the Vertigo title Border Town.
Looking at it from how this affects long-term creative plans it Lobdell will likely be sticking around on Nightwing for a few months longer than expected. This may make the current arc involving Ric Grayson to evolve in a different way than originally planned. That is until DC Comics finds a new writer to take over the series. How long that takes as creative plans change with the various events and storylines currently being developed makes this a major creative question mark for Nightwing.
LEARNING THE TRUTH ABOUT CONNER KENT’S RETURN
One of the big questions around the return of Young Justice is where have Conner Kent, Cassandra Sandsmark and Bart Allen been since DC Rebirth started. Young Justice #3 will at least answer that question for Conner Kent. How exactly Brian Bendis explains why Conner Kent has been MIA will be interesting to see.
Will Bendis ignore everything that was established with the New 52 version of Conner Kent? That would not be surprising since all the changes DC Comics made to all the Young Justice characters in Teen Titans was not well received. Forgetting that continuity may be the best option. But this is Bendis, and he knows how to twist established continuity to fit his vision of the character. So seeing elements of the New 52 version of Conner still be around will not be surprising to see.