New to DC comics and struggling to find a good starting point? Here’s why 52 could help get you on the right track.
52
If you’re just getting into DC comics like me, you may have found yourself overwhelmed trying to figure where-oh-where to start. There are a few times in DC history where everything “restarts” in a way, in an effort to establish good starting points for new readers. Popular examples are New 52 and Rebirth. The problem is, these often still rely on general knowledge of the DC universe and its vast history and cast of characters. There were many comics I started fresh in these eras that casually referenced so many characters and events I didn’t know about – with little explanation – that I ended up often giving up on the series after one or two issues. I’ve tried a lot of things here and there, but the only ones that ever really stuck were Green Lantern and Flash, and even those weren’t without varying levels of confusion along the way. Finally, I tried something I hadn’t tried before. I read the main DC mini-series Infinite Crisis, followed by the entirety of 52 (the comic run from 2006-2007, *not* the world state New 52 from 2011). I can’t tell you the relief I felt at finally having a place I could jump in with limited prior knowledge that was not only easy to follow, but also set the stage for the entire Post-Crisis world state at this point in DC history.
Overview
So what is 52? It’s a run of (you guessed it) 52 comics, each covering one consecutive week in the year following Infinite Crisis (2005-2006). During Infinite Crisis, the multiverse was rearranged and merged into one singular New Earth. Many heroes died. Now Wally/The Flash is gone, along with the speed force. Clark Kent has traded his Superman cape for his glasses. Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince are taking time off from respectively being Batman and Wonder Woman for self-reflection. Now it’s time for others to shine. 52 follows a variety of lesser-known heroes (at least, for those who only really know the DCEU/DCU and Arrowverse), such as Booster Gold, Renee Montoya, and Animal Man. While it may seem counterintuitive to jump into the DC-verse to follow the “B-list” heroes, I found it to actually be quite helpful, because they specifically don’t have such a complex history that the most popular heroes have. Even when resetting the world state, history often carries over for the Batfam, Superfam, etc. Here, we don’t have to worry about all that. 52 does not presume you know much about the world and characters going in, and even for characters I only knew in passing, I had no trouble figuring out who they were or following their stories (with the exception of the Dr. Magnus story, which I did find a little confusing at first, but ultimately it played out okay).
But wait, there’s more! One of my favorite parts about 52, the thing that really defined this as a good tool to break in to the DC-verse, is the post-comic content throughout. In issues 2-11, the last 3-4 pages of each issue follows Donna Troy, a Wonderfam character, as she learns the broadstroke history of the DC-verse up to this point. This helps set the foundation for the new world state, as well as provide key points in history for the popular characters. After this section concludes, most of issues 12-51 conclude with a 2-page backstory for a variety of characters/teams, including a summary of their abilities and recommendations of other comic runs to learn more about them. Even if you don’t feel like reading the rest of 52, these background stories are definitely worth exploring to establish your knowledge base of the DC-verse.
Another highlight of 52 is that it is a straight, self-contained run. All the other comics from this era start after the one year has passed, so you don’t have to worry about finding a read order or switching between 20 other comics. At the same time, it rotates through the handful of storylines, so it’s not without variety. I found all of these stories to be engaging, full of character depth and shocking twists. There are also several comedic moments, and the Ralph Dibny storyline verges on horror in a few occasions. The most prominent characters and stories followed in 52 are as follows:
- Booster Gold, a time traveler who is trying to establish himself as the new main superhero with the help of his trusty robotic sidekick Skeets
- Ralph Dibny, a man with elastic powers and genius detective skills who investigates a cult that claims they can raise people from the dead
- Black Adam, Shazam’s rival (though they are on decent terms here) who finds love and strives to improve the world
- Renee Montoya, a gay ex-detective who befriends the elusive hero Question; this arc also features Kate Kane’s debut taking on the mantle of Batwoman
- John Henry Irons, a Superfam character who challenges Lex Luthor’s seemingly magnanimous offer to turn civilians into superheros
- Dr. Will Magnus, known as the Metal Men, the inventor of animated metals who is recruited to work with a group of evil scientists
- Animal Man, Starfire, and Adam Strange, a group stranded in space after the events of Infinite Crisis who are trying to find their way home
As mentioned, this run heavily features Black Adam, so this is a great way to learn more about his backstory. Two of his main companions are Adrianna and Amon, who are in the 2022 DCEU movie.
Setting the Stage
So, what do you need to know going in? Not too much. It *may* be helpful to read the main Infinite Crisis run prior to starting this, as I did. However, I found that Infinite Crisis was more prone to assuming you had prior knowledge of characters and recent events, whereas 52 felt like something you could go into largely blind. I had dabbled enough in DC comics to be able to follow Infinite Crisis with ease, and as a whole it’s pretty self-explanatory, even without reading the event tie-ins or the Countdown to Infinite Crisis (2004-2005) event. So, personally I’d recommend starting with 52 if you are brand new to the DC-verse, or starting with the Infinite Crisis main run if you are moderately familiar with the DC-verse already. Here, I’m going to summarize Infinite Crisis for those who don’t plan to read it. For those who do plan to read it, you should be able to keep up with the plot if you have a decent familiarity with a wide range of DC characters.
While the major events of Infinite Crisis are eventually covered by the Donna Troy backup story, it takes several issues to catch up to this point, so here’s what you need to know when starting out. Now, as mentioned, I’m also newer to the DC-verse, but the impression I got from Infinite Crisis is that there was a long history of DC comics that didn’t always mesh, so Infinite Crisis seems to be DC’s way of conveniently merging and rearranging history in order to move forward. Certain characters and groups are revealed to be from an alternate Earth. A group of survivors from alternate worlds, comprised of Earth 2’s Superman and Lois, Earth Prime’s Superboy, and Alex Luther (Lex’s son from Earth 3) have banded together to remake the current universe. Ultimately, Alex revives a bunch of universes that had been destroyed, then merges them into a single New Earth. In the process, there was mass destruction in several areas, and Conner Kent (Earth 1’s Superboy) sacrifices himself to save the universe.
Aside from the main plot of Infinite Crisis, there are some other key things worth noting to better understand the characters of 52 and their motivations. Conner Kent had been dating Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl, so she is in the early stages of grief after losing him. Black Adam is known to be hella violent. I don’t think he made it through any of his scenes in Infinite Crisis without dismembering someone or literally obliterating their heads. While not part of Infinite Crisis, in the events leading up to it – specifically Identity Crisis (2004) – Ralph Dibny’s wife Sue was brutally killed. This was a huge deal and shook up the whole superhero community, even though she wasn’t a superhero herself, and especially impacted Ralph.
Conclusion and Additional Tips
If you’re brand new to the DC comics, 52 provides a great starting point. It doesn’t require much foreknowledge of character or event history, it’s easy to follow without worrying about a complex reading order, and it gives plenty of insight to the world state and character backstories in the post-comic content throughout.
If you are interested in read orders to keep you on track after this, I highly recommend Comic Book Reading Orders. You can find DC read orders per character, event, or even just a massive read order for the entire DC-verse (52 falls within page 6 of the DC Master Reading Order). Another website I often use is Comic Book Herald. It’s a little harder to navigate than Comic Book Reading Orders, but it gives good advice.
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Love Nerd Union? Consider supporting us over on Patreon. You’ll get access to early access articles, commercial-free video essays, online discussions and more. Plus, you will be directly responsible for supporting journalism in a field that’s currently being overwhelmed by clickbait focused sites. Supporting us keeps the lights on but it also sets a standard to sites in our field about fair wage practices, citing sources, debunking unconfirmed sources, and helps us investigate stories better. If you want to hear more about our goals and updated ethical standards as a site, you can check out our Editor’s Letter later this month.
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