Could this end the DC Universe!?!

Ok, the past week and a half had some very big announcements happened in the comic industry, with one of which being the biggest comic book related news in years as it has the potential to END the current DC Universe and any or all related media.

The first, and most important thing, is that the Siegel family has just won the rights to Superman’s origins. To those not plugged into the comic world, here’s what the hap is. In 1938, not long after Superman debuted, Jerry Siegel (the writer) and Joe Shuster (the artist) sold their joint creation Superman to National Allied Publications (later to be known as DC) for $100 apiece. They were given such a little amount for two reasons: 1. During the depression that was a nice chunkachange. 2. They were screwed over big time. The publisher told them that Superman’s success was only a fad and that they should cash in while the character was worth anything. Since then, the rights of the character has been disputed in court numerous times. Gradually the Siegel family has gained more and more control over the character, and winnning the origin of the character may as well be considered winning the character himself. For those who still aren’t quite clear on what I mean, this is it in a nutshell: DC comics cannot mention Superman’s origin in any form or fashion unless they pay a licensing to the family. Normally not a big deal, right? Well, a few weeks prior, a judge made the decision that DC/Warner Bros. had to begin production on a new Superman film by 2011, otherwise the family would lose money, and would be able to sue, where their lawyer vowed the family would gain full creative control of the character. Once again, DC could simply pay a licensing fee.

But in the back of my mind is a terrible thought. What if the family does gain the full rights to the character? What happens if they do that, and then decide they don’t want DC to publish the character any longer? Superman is the flagship character at DC. There isn’t a comic series they’ve published that he hasn’t starred in or guest starred in. Granted, if that were to happen, they could probably end their current universe and start one without Superman. But that would feel empty. Batman would then be their flagship character, but a DC universe without Superman isn’t a DC universe at all. Now like I said, they’ll probably just pay a licensing fee for the character, because Marvel couldn’t buy the character, because that would mean a major rewrite in their own universe. He doesn’t belong anywhere but DC. I can respect the family’s decision to try to gain all of the rights, because after all, Jerry and Joe got screwed something fierce. But it would ruin the character that I, and many many others well before my time, grew up with if they took the character elsewhere.