April is set-up to be big month for DC Universe. Kicking off the second quarter of 2024 will be the Superman Family crossover event: House of Brainiac. That’s not the only event DC Comics will be kicking off. We learn that for the upcoming Free Comic Book Day 2024 they’ll have a comic book prelude for their next big event. What else is coming from DC Comics in April and beyond? Find out with our breakdown of the biggest takeaways from DC Comics April 2024 solicitations.
HOUSE OF BRAINIAC TAKESOVER SUPERMAN
The Dawn of DC finally united the Superman Family for the first time in a long time. That said, the franchise hasn’t been completely cohesive. A large reason for that is that outside of Clark Kent the majority of the Superman Family are still finding their direction. Now they will be getting some help as DC Comics will be launching the first big Superman event in April titled House of Brainiac.
From what we learned in the April solicitation the House of Brainiac main story will be taking place between Superman and Action Comics. In addition, the current Power Girl’s ongoing will also have a tie-in to the House of Brainiac. Though from what Power Girl #8 solicitation talks about it looks like whatever Brainiac’s plot is it’ll attract other villains like Crush to take part.
Having the first big event centered around Brainiac as the antagonist is the right call. Brainiac is a villain that has always had all the makings of a top-tier villain. Unfortunately, Brainiac hasn’t reached that level as normally they are superseded by Lex Luthor and Darkseid. This should be the time where Brainiac finally gets to that next level and sets up the rest of 2024 for the Superman Family.
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY TEASING NEXT BIG DC UNIVERSE EVENT
While House of Brainiac is positioned as a major crossover its not the only event DC Comics teased. For May’s Free Comic Book Day DC Comics is teasing the release of a one-shot that’ll act as a prelude to their next big event. There isn’t much to actually take away from the Free Comic Book Day DC Major Event 2024. The only information we get is “the final domino to fall in an epic scheme comes tumbling down, and the DC Universe will never be the same.”
Given what is going on in the DC Universe thus far this upcoming DCU event could very well center around Amanda Waller. Throughout the first three months of 2024 we see Amanda Waller have a big presence. From taking advantage of the events in Titans: Beast World to “recruiting” heroes to her side to forming a new Task Force X, Amanda Waller is having a busty 2024.
All of this brings to mind the teaser at the end of Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths. All of Amanda Waller’s planning could lead to a Civil War-like event as she tries to eliminate all of the heroes in her way. In the process this could set the stage for The Council of Light to have a larger role in the DCU beyond 2024, similar to the Young Justice animated series.
NIGHTWING MILESTONE 300TH ISSUE
Of all the characters that have benefited the most from Dawn of DC Nightwing is at the top of the list. Continuing his momentum from his Infinite Frontier direction, Dawn of DC has further elevated Dick Grayson. A big reason for that is how well received critically and sales wise Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing run has been. All that hard work has now led to reaching a major milestone as Nightwing has reached his 300th Legacy comic book issue. This is certainly a well earned milestone with all the creative runs the character has had.
We don’t learn much about what will happen in Nightwing #300. Though given how much Taylor has been teasing the Heartless story Nightwing #300 would be a good spot to kick that off. Everything in 2023 and 2024 has been building towards Heartless claiming Blockbuster’s spot as Nightwing’s biggest threat.
WONDER WOMAN FINALLY MEETS SOVEREIGN
Turning the world against Wonder Woman has been executed as perfectly as possible by the new villain Sovereign. He has manipulated every development in the “Wonder Woman: Outlaw” story to further his plot. That included making Wonder Woman believe that she had to face the threat of Sovereign alone. That part of the plan didn’t work as Donna Troy, Cassandra Sandsmark, and Yara Flor are committed to helping Wonder Woman out. Though Sovereign did succeed in getting a group of villain heavy hitters to work under his command.
All of Sovereign’s planning appears to work as in Wonder Woman #8 he has captured Diana. Not only that but Sovereign will be using the Lasso of Lies on Diana. If this does indeed happen the question is if the Lasso of Lies is strong enough to be used on Diana.
There will also be the wild card of Trinity, Diana’s future daughter, coming from decades in the future to the present. Since the “Wonder Woman: Outlaw” story has been told as a tale a locked up Sovereign is telling Trinity in the future this surprise development can change everything. The future Sovereign could also be manipulating Trinity to make her want to come to the present to change whatever story the villain told her in the future.
VIXEN JOINS GROWING BIRDS OF PREY ROSTER
Kelly Thompson and DC editorial appear to have certainly heard all the things said about the newest Birds of Prey roster. We already saw that with March’s Birds of Prey #7 that Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl/Oracle will be joining the team. Now we see that Vixen is also going to be added to the roster starting in Birds of Prey #8.
Both Oracle and Vixen are strong additions to the team. Just looking at the cover of Birds of Prey #8 with Black Canary, Big Barda, Vixen, Cassandra Cain’s Batgirl, and Oracle looks right. This has the premiere Birds of Prey roster. With Thompson already showing she knows how to write in the DC Universe these additions to the Birds of Prey roster will further help strengthen the series.
GUY GARDNER & CAROL FERRIS BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Green Lantern #7 set a lot of things into motion with what it revealed about the greater DC Universe. Specifically, with how the United Planets have quickly claimed more power. That growth in power includes taking over leadership of the Green Lantern Corps. One of those stories is Guy Gardner being given the solo mission of hunting down Lobo. That is a big storyline to set-up. Its story we will finally see play out in Green Lantern #10.
Given the story more weight is that Jeremy Adams is also writing this Guy Gardner back-up story. Adams writing this story gives a chance for Guy to possibly take on a bigger role after this back-up story ends. There are things going on with Hal making his return to Oa that could line-up with Guy’s story.
Carol Ferris is also looking to get more of a spotlight starting in Green Lantern #10. Thus far, she has played the ex-girlfriend role in the series. Getting her out of that spot and getting her back with the Star Sapphire’s would be great to see. She could be a major player if that is her path given all of the things going on with the Emotional Spectrum.
BATMAN OF ZUR-EN-ARRH VS JOKER AND PUNCHLINE
Batman of Zur-En-Arrh has certainly made his presence known as we see a bloody Joker, Punchline, and Riddler on the cover of Batman #146. Given that they are at the feet of Batman, whose cape is soaked in their blood, this is likely Zur-En-Arrh. This does create a question as to what Batman of Zur-En-Arrh plan is for the Rogues Gallery. Because last we left Joker he was heavily beaten and locked up in a prison cell with Bruce Wayne. With Joker, Punchline, and Riddler rough spot this could indicate that Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is going after all of Gotham City’s villains.
This will all be happening while Bruce Wayne is going to keep his distance from Gotham City. The teaser for Batman #146 states Bruce is going to be back under an old mentor’s tutelage. With Chip Zdarsky bringing in Lucie Chesson, also known as the Gray Shadow, as a former teacher of both Bruce Waye and Dick Grayson she is likely this mentor. With how long Batman has been around it’ll be interesting to see how Zdarsky modernizes Bruce’s history training to become the Dark Knight.
MARK WAID AND DAN MORA OFF SHAZAM
Starting with Shazam #10 Josie Campbell and Emanuela Lupacchino are going to be taking over as the new creative team. Campbell and Lupacchino are certainly the right creative team to take over for Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Campbell showed she can write in the world with The New Champion of Shazam. Lupacchino also has a great classic looking art style that is a perfect fit for Shazam. Both can bring a lot to the franchise and carry on where Waid and Mora are leaving off.
The question is what is next for Mark Waid and Dan Mora? It is way to out-of-nowhere for Waid and Mora to suddenly end their run after less than a year. Given the suddenness of this creative runs end its possible they are moving on to something bigger. With DC launching a big event starting on Free Comic Book Day 2024 they could be the unannounced creative team for the comic book. That or Waid and Mora could launch a new Justice League comic book. They would certainly be a dream Justice League creative team.
BARRY ALLEN RETURNS FROM RETIREMET
Since Wally West returned and took over as the main Flash for the DC Universe Barry Allen has been enjoying a semi-retirement. Especially after the events of Dark Crisis On Infinite Earth’s Barry has taken a well deserved time off to settle down with Iris West. Now at least for the 2024 The Flash Annual Barry is getting brought back as the Scarlet Speedster.
Barry returning to be Flash for an adventure is certainly something to celebrate. But that return may not be a joyous one as The Flash 2024 Annual teases Barry going through some sort of crisis. With this tease we could be seeing Barry have more of a presence in the DCU. It could play into the upcoming DCU event. Or the crisis could be more personal like Barry proposing and finally getting married to Iris, since New 52 did away with their marriage.
TITANS DEAL WITH TRIGON RETURN
Since the start of Dawn of DC Tom Taylor has been building a major sub-plot around Raven’s future. Through Nightwing, Titans, and Beast World we’ve seen Raven make more extreme decisions. Many of these has been her stepping up on her own. But at the same time the choices she has made have been questionable with how far she has taken dealing with various villains.
Now these Raven sub-plots are seemingly culminating with the return of her father, Trigon. Though, hopefully all of Raven’s development isn’t just about Trigon. We’ve seen that Trigon story every time Raven has gained momentum for her own story. It is time for Trigon to not be the end-all-be-all for Raven. This time around Trigon should be a step into a bigger story that Raven will be the center around.