DC Comics May 2025 comic book solicitations are here! With that comes a sleuth of new announcements. The Superman franchise in particular is getting a lot of attention with several new comic books for Superman and Supergirl being added to the publishing line. That is on top of major developments going on for the Justice League Unlimited mission statement and other things. Let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from DC Comics May 2025 solicitations.
DAN SLOTT JOINS DC FOR SUPERMAN UNLIMITED
Dan Slott is going to be joining the DC Universe in May. And just like previous long-time Marvel writer Brian Bendis before him, Slott is going to be starting his DC Comics run by getting his own Superman title. Unlike Bendis, Slott is getting full control of the Superman franchise. Rather, he is joining Joshua Williamson, Mark Waid, G. Willow Wilson, and other creators working on the Superman brand right now.
This set-up is probably much friendlier to Slott so not everything is placed on his shoulders for the success of the Superman franchise. For someone like Slott who has usually been given full control of the creative direction for Spider-Man, Iron Man, and other franchises this is out of the norm for him. It makes for an interesting challenge to see how he works as part of a creative collective.
Adding to the interest is how Superman Unlimited will factor into the greater plans going on for the franchise. The solicitation for the first issue shows that Slott is integrating the greater Justice League Unlimited set-up for the character. The tease of Kryptonite being embedded deep within the Earth could be game changing for the franchise. It’s something that can impact all of the Superman related titles.
HUSH GETTING HIS OWN ROBIN
The solicitation for Batman #160 is not a lot but it does hint at a major development in the Hush sequel. And that is Hush getting his own version of Robin in the form of a character named Silence. There isn’t much given away about the character other than the name and they will be going after Batman.
Though at least this does show that Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee are simply trying to go down the same path as the original story. Even without any sorts of details on who or what they are there is potential in Silence adding a lot to Hush’s character. Especially since we know Hush is targeting the entire Batman Family not just Bruce Wayne. Silence can play a part in this revenge plot as it will through Batman and the others off to have this new wildcard in play.
SOPHIE CAMPBELL LAUNCHES NEW SUPERGIRL SERIES
Of everything that was shown in DC Comics May 2025 solicitations is Sophie Campbell working on a new Supergirl comic book. As someone that isn’t the biggest Superman fan a new Supergirl comic doesn’t do much for moving my personal needle. What does peak my interest is Campbel as the writer and artist on the new series.
Campbell had one of the best modern comic book runs with her work on IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. That series alone showed she knows how to navigate a big universe with a variety of characters. The focus on one character rather than a group of characters as the lead will be interesting to see how Campbell handles that. It will place more importance on the supporting cast that Campbell builds around Supergirl.
Whatever the case I have confidence that Campbell can make this new Supergirl series a standout hit for DC Comics. That is as long as Campbell has the freedom to follow their creative vision and isn’t pulled into Supergirl tying into other Superman titles or events.
MR. TERRIFIC TIME IS NOW
With Mr. Terrific set to play a part in the upcoming James Gunn Superman movie it is not surprising that he would get his own comic book going into the summer months. It is a smart move that rather than an ongoing DC Comics is giving Mr. Terrific the Year One treatment. Even though the character has been around a long time as part of the Justice League and JSA he hasn’t had much solo attention given to him.
With Mr. Terrific: Year One there is also an opportunity to modernize the character. The closest we’ve gotten to that in the last few decades is Mr. Terrific appearing in the Arrowverse show. Having a definitive Year One origin to point to will be helpful for anyone that watches James Gunn’s Superman movie and becomes a fan of Mr. Terrific.
This Year One comic book also appears to be setting the groundwork for Mr. Terrific to play a big role in whatever big event DC Comics is building towards with Darkseid. There is mention we will be seeing some present day stuff and it will be tied to the current Justice League Unlimited direction. How Al Letson and Valentine De Landro balance the present day continuity heavy stuff with the, hopefully, freedom they will have with modernizing the origin story.
JOKER & BRAINIAC ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE SPOTLIGHT
Things continue to escalate in the Absolute Universe as we get deeper into each series in the publishing line. That is seen with how both Joker and Brainiac will be getting more of a spotlight in Absolute Batman and Absolute Superman, respectively. This won’t be the first time that Joker and Brainiac have appeared in the Absolute Universe. Both physically appeared in cameo appearances in the first issue of each title.
For Absolute Joker, we saw that the character is Bruce Wayne-esque as a rich, globe-trotting billionaire. We didn’t get much more information than that so we don’t know exactly where he fits into with what Absolute Batman is doing. But given that Absolute Joker is getting attention at the same time as Ark M is being revealed there is that connection. How Scott Snyder presents the Joker in a new way will be exciting to see, especially as he is joined by the uber talented artist Marcos Martin for this upcoming story arc.
Then with Absolute Brainiac, we know more about them. Even though they’ve only appeared in the shadows we know that Absolute Brainiac is running, or at least the brains behind, the Lazarus Corp. With Absolute Superman shaking up the world as a new symbol of hope that likely doesn’t align with Absolute Brainiac. Which makes the attention given to what Absolute Brainiac is doing with bottling up cities an even bigger development with how much attention Absolute Krypton’s lore has been seen.
DC UNIVERSE SUPERHERO TEAMS CRISIS MODE
A running theme through all of the team books for DC Comics in May is the different crisis they are dealing with. The Justice League Unlimited are being fractured by the Legion of Doom. The Titans are dealing with a new Brother Eye-like artificial intelligence that Cyborg is teased to have created. The Justice Society are dealing with major heartbreak. And the Birds of Prey are all spread out across the globe by an unknown threat.
With all that is going on it does put into question where the Justice League Unlimited direction is going. All these teams are working under that banner. But with all the teams splintered the communication between them may not be as tight as it was intended to be.
All of this exemplifies how big things have gotten in the DC Universe. It is part of the big magic of having multiple different teams active at the same time. DC Comics seems to have found a good balance between how many team titles they are publishing monthly. It is not too much but just enough to get over the greater DC All In direction.
BLUDHAVEN MORE CORRUPT THAN GOTHAM CITY
Bludhaven is dealing with a new age unknown as there is a giant power gap that is being attempted to be filled. We have the Cirque du Sin and Flybois who have brought the Splicers element from the Batman Beyond show to the present. That alone shows how big of a change Bludhaven is going as future elements of the DC Universe are being introduced.
Now in May an old face may be returning, possibly from resurrected from the beyond. The solicitation for Nightwing #126 is teasing the return of Bludhaven’s corrupt police officer. Given Bludhaven’s history of corruption this could be anyone, whether old or new.
This places not only Nightwing but also current Bludhaven Police Commissioner Margaret Sawyer in a tough spot. The dynamic Nightwing and Commissioner Sawyer have is going to be really tested for the first time. This is a big deal since they’ve largely aligned with how they dealt with Blockbuster and other crisis in Bludhaven they’ve gone through together.
HAL JORDAN AND SPECTRE REUNITE
Hal Jordan is getting a big reunion with the Spectre showing up in Green Lantern #23. This is a big deal on multiple fronts. On the bigger DC All In angle, the last we saw of the Spectre they were being used by Darkseid to destroy the DC Universe. This ultimately led to the creation of the Absolute Universe.
Now it appears that what remains of the Spirit of Vengeance is wandering around to find a new host. What better host to have than someone that the Spirt of Vengeance is familiar with than Hal Jordan.
On a personal level for Hal, this reunion comes at a bad time as he is working with the rest of his peers to reestablish the Green Lantern Corps. And with the chaotic nature of the Emotional Spectrum right now having the Spirit of Vengeance around will not help that at all. Because of that it’ll be interesting if the current state of the Emotional Spectrum also impacts the way the Spirit of Vengeance acts.
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