52: Difference between revisions

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* [[Arc Words]]: "Who are you?" and "Are you ready?" By [[The Question]]. {{spoiler|Both incarnations.}}

* [[Artificial Intelligence]]: The [[Metal Men]], which are a team of well-beloved superheroes created by Dr. William Magnus, one of the main characters of this series.

* [[Ascended Fanboy|Ascended Fangirl]]: Eliza Harmon, who idolized the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] and all things [[The Flash|speed]]. When she became Trajectory and a member of Luthor's new [[Infinity Inc]], she never stopped hoping to eventually join the Titans, and dreamed of eventually becoming the [[Legacy Character|new]] Kid Flash.

* [[Ascended Fanboy|Ascended Fangirl]]: Eliza Harmon, who idolized the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] and all things [[The Flash|speed]]. When she became Trajectory and a member of Luthor's new [[Infinity, Inc.]], she never stopped hoping to eventually join the Titans, and dreamed of eventually becoming the [[Legacy Character|new]] Kid Flash.

* [[Asteroid Thicket]]: Turned [[Up to Eleven]]; apparently the thicket that [[Adam Strange]], [[Animal Man]], and [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Starfire]] are stuck in has a diameter measured in ''parsecs''. This is handwaved with the explanation that it is not a natural asteroid field, but that comes nowhere close to explaining the sheer amount of mass that is present.

* [[Author Appeal]]: The collected volumes make it clear which characters the writers loved most of all. Even [[Dan ~~Di Dio~~]], Editor in Chief of DC, got in on this; while Dan stayed out of much of the writing of 52 [[Word of God|(his words, not mine)]], he did insist that {{spoiler|Ralph Dibny die as both "...a Hero and a husband."}} and had the end of the Ralph Dibny storyline rewritten. See the page quote for the results.

* [[Author Appeal]]: The collected volumes make it clear which characters the writers loved most of all. Even [[Dan DiDio]], Editor in Chief of DC, got in on this; while Dan stayed out of much of the writing of 52 [[Word of God|(his words, not mine)]], he did insist that {{spoiler|Ralph Dibny die as both "...a Hero and a husband."}} and had the end of the Ralph Dibny storyline rewritten. See the page quote for the results.

* [[Awesome but Impractical]]: The Batwoman outfit comes complete with [[Combat Stilettos|high-heels]], which would make even running a difficult challenge, let alone combat and leaping from the rooftops. The writers actually recognized this and, in her later appearances in ''[[DC Comics|Detective Comics]]'', her father explains that those were the only boots that could be found in the proper color, and her new footwear is considerably more practical.

* [[Bad Powers, Bad People]]: {{spoiler|Hannibal}}. He has to ''eat'' a part of something in order to turn into it. [[Squick|Ugh]].

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* [[Death Seeker]]: Renee begins the series suicidal after the events of ''[[Gotham Central]]'' and, after she is forced to kill an Intergang suicide bomber that was just a child, she begs Black Adam to kill her when he finds her "drunkenly taking pleasure with one of [his] citizens."

* [[Depending on the Artist]]: The series retained a single breakdown artists (Keith Giffen) for all fifty-two issues to deliberately avert this trope and maintain consistent portrayals of characters throughout the series. There were minor variances over the year (the design of Natasha Irons when she first appears with [[Infinity Inc]] does not match either her previous or later appearances, and the changing bust size of Renee Montoya and Kate Kane [[Accentuate the Negative|got a lot of criticism from internet reviewers]]), but these were few and far between.

* [[Depending on the Artist]]: The series retained a single breakdown artists (Keith Giffen) for all fifty-two issues to deliberately avert this trope and maintain consistent portrayals of characters throughout the series. There were minor variances over the year (the design of Natasha Irons when she first appears with [[Infinity, Inc.]] does not match either her previous or later appearances, and the changing bust size of Renee Montoya and Kate Kane [[Accentuate the Negative|got a lot of criticism from internet reviewers]]), but these were few and far between.

* [[Despair Event Horizon]]: There are actually many of them, each taking place in one of the independent storylines where they are turning points not just in the story, but in the lives of the characters as well. Commentary released in the trade paperback reveals that some of these scenes were specifically designed to push the envelope as far as possible in a comic book and others drew from painful personal experiences of the writers.

** The deaths of {{spoiler|[[Morality Chain|Osiris and Isis]]}} sends {{spoiler|Black Adam}} into a deep depression and homicidal rage that dramatically affects not just him, but the entire planet.

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** {{spoiler|Skeets}} tries to lock Daniel Carter in a time-loop believing he saw too much in Hunter's lab, actually quoting the line.

* [[He's Back]]: Ever since ''[[Identity Crisis]]'' Ralph has been "un-Elongated" and near-suicidal, and he verges quite close to outright insanity over the course of this series. He is [[Drowning My Sorrows|perpetually carrying a flask]] and [[Beard of Sorrow|has let his personal hygiene fall by the wayside]], but when Ralph {{spoiler|unmasks Felix Faust and reveals he knew it was him all along}} he is, for the first time in several weeks, clean-shaven and properly dressed while his opponent cowers and trembles.

* [[Heroes Unlimited]]: [[Infinity Inc]] seems to have a new roster of heroes every time it is seen; this is not hyperbole, until they get their official team name and uniforms there is literally a new stable of heroes in every appearance, with only Natasha present in every incarnation. The Teen Titans themselves are trying to expand during the series, and are seen holding tryouts and gaining (and losing) new members in their various appearances.

* [[Heroes Unlimited]]: [[Infinity, Inc.]] seems to have a new roster of heroes every time it is seen; this is not hyperbole, until they get their official team name and uniforms there is literally a new stable of heroes in every appearance, with only Natasha present in every incarnation. The Teen Titans themselves are trying to expand during the series, and are seen holding tryouts and gaining (and losing) new members in their various appearances.

* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]: Renee Montoya has a long, passionate and heartbroken history with red-headed Kate Kane, and the Question himself has delirium-induced flashbacks to his love, Myra, from his own series.

* [[Heroic Bastard]]: The Question. It is not a big part of either his character or the story, but when Renee calls him a bastard [[Insult Backfire|he agrees that, since he was raised in an orphanage, he most likely really is a bastard]].

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* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: It will bring tears to your eyes.

* [[Hive Mind]] / [[Hive Queen]]: Lady Styx and her empire of zombies.

* [[Hollywood Hype Machine]]: When it was announced that [[Batwoman]] would be reintroduced to [[The DCU]] in this series, and that she would be gay with a history with Renee Montoya, the media reaction was ''astounding''. [[Dan ~~Di Dio~~]] himself said that he was completely unprepared for the amount of focus and recognition, including spreading into media that is not traditionally related to or focused on comic books. With such a focus on her and her sexuality she became known as DC's most high-profile gay superhero. However, the press response was greatly out of proportion to her role in the series, which was as a supporting character spread out over fifty two issues, and after its conclusion she did not receive another starring role until her 2009 headlining of ''Detective Comics''.

* [[Hollywood Hype Machine]]: When it was announced that [[Batwoman]] would be reintroduced to [[The DCU]] in this series, and that she would be gay with a history with Renee Montoya, the media reaction was ''astounding''. [[Dan DiDio]] himself said that he was completely unprepared for the amount of focus and recognition, including spreading into media that is not traditionally related to or focused on comic books. With such a focus on her and her sexuality she became known as DC's most high-profile gay superhero. However, the press response was greatly out of proportion to her role in the series, which was as a supporting character spread out over fifty two issues, and after its conclusion she did not receive another starring role until her 2009 headlining of ''Detective Comics''.

* [[Hot Amazon]]: When Batwoman [[Big Damn Heroes|bursts to the rescue]] to save Renee Montoya and the Question, Renee ogles her with almost slack-jawed awe as she backhands one of the mutant human/alien creatures.

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** Natasha Irons ''is'' special, but it takes her most of the series to realize that being special does not actually ''make'' you special. Brains she was given, but she needs to ''earn'' wisdom.

* [[I've Got an X and I'm Not Afraid to Use It]]: "Stand Back! I've got a particle wave ray gun and bipolar disorder!"

* [[In Name Only]]: Literally. Lex Luthor has bought the copyrights to several superhero identities and teams and has begun distributing them to the creations of his Everyman Project, giving them the names of iconic characters without any connection (personally, thematically or professionally) to their earlier incarnations. This leads to extensive friction between the new [[Infinity Inc]] and the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] and the [[Justice Society of America]]; the latter two teams knew, and in some instances ''fathered'', the people behind the old identities and the members of the original Infinity, Inc., and they take Luthor's buying of their identities as a personal insult. Infinity, Inc., however, throws this right back at them; the Teen Titans are also not what they once were, they have lost so many members and been reformed so often that they are no more the original team than Infinity, Inc. is.

* [[In Name Only]]: Literally. Lex Luthor has bought the copyrights to several superhero identities and teams and has begun distributing them to the creations of his Everyman Project, giving them the names of iconic characters without any connection (personally, thematically or professionally) to their earlier incarnations. This leads to extensive friction between the new [[Infinity, Inc.]] and the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] and the [[Justice Society of America]]; the latter two teams knew, and in some instances ''fathered'', the people behind the old identities and the members of the original Infinity, Inc., and they take Luthor's buying of their identities as a personal insult. Infinity, Inc., however, throws this right back at them; the Teen Titans are also not what they once were, they have lost so many members and been reformed so often that they are no more the original team than Infinity, Inc. is.

* [[Insult Backfire]]:

{{quote|'''Renee Montoya:''' "You really ''are'' a bastard."

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** Renee when {{spoiler|she becomes the new [[The Question|Question]]}}.

** [[Batwoman]] makes her first return to DCU comics continuity in several decades when Katherine "Kate" Kane is introduced.

** Lex Luthor has bought the copyrights and trademarks to various superhero identities and teams and is using them for the products of his Everyman Project. This results in a new [[Infinity Inc]] running around and a new Nuklon, [[Kick the Dog|but also a new Jade]].

** Lex Luthor has bought the copyrights and trademarks to various superhero identities and teams and is using them for the products of his Everyman Project. This results in a new [[Infinity, Inc.]] running around and a new Nuklon, [[Kick the Dog|but also a new Jade]].

* [[Let's See You Do Better]]: When Booster Gold and Ralph Dibny meet, one of the very first crossovers of the separate stories, Ralph becomes almost violently angry when he remembers that Booster is from the future and, as such, should have known about his wife's murder and been able to do something about it. This leads to [[What the Hell, Hero?|general contempt for Booster Gold's glory-seeking ways and overall status as a sell-out.]] Booster, however, is having none of it, and points out that even though he sympathizes with Ralph, he will not be lectured by a former hero who has not even put on his costume in eight months, and at least Booster is still ''doing'' something.

* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: Damn near every character in the DC Universe shows up at some point. [[Memetic Mutation|And they are awesome!]]

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