It was on the duvet of Detective Comics #38 that Robin, the Boy Marvel was declared in his debut look to be “The Sensational Character Discover of 1940!” Whereas we could not have the identical pluck and gusto as editor Whitney Ellsworth, that’s a title which we at DC.com take critically, and decide to discovering yearly.
2022 has been a banner yr for character debuts, and after cautious consideration we’ve narrowed it down to 10 private favorites. Each certainly one of them is a winner in our eyes, however we’ve ranked them right here with the identical degree of care and self-assuredness which allowed DC in 1940 to name the yr for Dick Grayson somewhat than, say, Physician Destiny, the Flash or Inexperienced Lantern, who additionally occurred to debut that yr. When you’ve got a unique order in thoughts, or a shoutout that didn’t make our minimize, then please pontificate within the DC Group. Right here, we’d wish to have a good time the character debuts which significantly caught our consideration this yr.
Bam
BamDynamic Debut: Batwheels, “Secret Origin of the Batwheels”
2022 is a yr that proved that the DC Universe has so many storytelling prospects, even Batman’s automotive can get its personal present. In Batwheels, Bam is the primary in a fleet of self-aware autos within the Darkish Knight’s storage, able to grow to be a hero in his personal proper alongside Batgirl Cassandra Cain and Robin Duke Thomas. “Bam” actually isn’t the hero anybody anticipated, however no one’s higher suited to patrol Gotham’s streets than a hero with four-wheel drive.
Omega-Bam-Man
Omega-Bam-ManDynamic Debut: The Flash #787
“IT’S TIIIIIIMME! TIME TO — SHINE!”
Jeremy Adams’ The Flash was certainly one of my picks final yr for the highlights of 2021. One yr later, I’m comfortable to say that it’s solely been choosing up pace. And there’s no stronger indicator than the debut of Omega-Bam-Man, the best heavyweight wrestling champion in all the multiverse. He’s an entity with all the facility and charisma of the Perspective Period condensed into one package deal, and our very personal Flash often is the solely being able to maintaining with the size of his bombasity. After only one tag workforce match with the Scarlet Speedster, it’s secure to say we’re marks for all times.
Gault
GaultDynamic Debut: The Sandman, “Chapter 8: Enjoying Home”
Perhaps the best miracle of 2022 for a DC fan was the primary season of Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman, lengthy thought of “the unadaptable comedian.” In visuals, in tone, in content material and in scope, there have been many pitfalls that any try to do Neil Gaiman’s supply materials justice must keep away from in an effort to get it proper. One in every of them, proper within the second narrative arc which might type the again half of the season, was the best way that the unique materials built-in the Jack Kirby incarnation of Sandman from the Nineteen Seventies and his dream sidekicks Brute and Glob. In an adaptation which aimed to permit the sequence to face by itself, this ingredient must be modified dramatically. The present misplaced Brute and Glob, however changed them with one thing stunning: the efficiency of Ann Ogbomo as Gault, a nightmare with goals of her personal. This nuanced character fashioned a better and extra sympathetic connection to Jed Walker, the boy she deserted her obligation to take care of in goals. Gault lends a brand new richness to a basic that proves even the best tales can shock you of their evolution.
Lulu
LuluDynamic Debut: DC League of Tremendous-Pets
In an animated movie full of comedy stars taking the absurdities of the DC Universe to activity, it’s Lex Luthor’s take a look at guinea pig Lulu, voiced by the scene-stealing Kate McKinnon, who takes the orange Kryptonite cake. Who else would have the utter temerity to inform Marvel Lady whereas sure inside her Lasso of Reality that “the boots are a bit a lot”? However at the same time as she makes fools of heroes outdated and new alike, it’s her tragic drive to win the love of a super-villain who will solely see her as a device which makes her such a memorable authentic character—and that typically Mercy comes from sudden locations.
Malik White
Malik WhiteDynamic Debut: Black Adam #1
There isn’t any redemption for Black Adam. That’s the premise of Priest’s twelve-issue restricted sequence devoted to the previous champion of Shazam. However the identical is probably not true of New York medical scholar Malik White, Adam’s modern-day descendant and reluctant heir of his legacy. Extra keen on medication than superheroics, Malik’s best concern is saving the lives in entrance of him somewhat than preventing whoever the latest super-villain on the block may be. Simply don’t name him “White Adam.”
Leota Adebayo
Leota AdebayoDynamic Debut: Peacemaker, “A Complete New Whirled”
As tempted as we have been to place Peacemaker’s trustworthy sidekick Eagly on this listing, or the DC.com favourite Clemson Murn, there’s no denial that Leota Adebayo is the guts of The Suicide Squad’s TV spinoff. Danielle Brooks performs Leota as the latest agent to hitch Peacemaker’s operative workforce, offering the viewers with a grounded view of this frenetic nook of the DC Universe. With a wealthy inside lifetime of her personal, together with a brand new spouse and a few lovable puppies, Adebayo appears like an actual particular person positioned subsequent to the larger-than-life comedian ebook determine of Peacemaker. Author and director James Gunn has at all times insisted that Peacemaker was an ensemble present, and it’s Adebayo who retains that group collectively.
The Satan Nezha
The Satan NezhaDynamic Debut: Detective Comics #1050
2022 was the yr that comedian ebook legend Mark Waid returned to DC in an enormous method, and he did it by bringing a brand new planetary risk with him: the monstrous 3800-year-old Chinese language warlord often called the Satan Nezha. Within the first arc of Waid and artist Dan Mora’s World’s Most interesting, it takes the mixed effort of Batman, Robin, Superman, Supergirl and the Doom Patrol to defeat this highly effective magical adversary, able to practically something. Now, Nezha is the driving drive behind each the continued Batman vs. Robin and the 2023 occasion which can set the phrases for the longer term established order of the DC Universe, Lazarus Planet. A villain with this type of impression is one we’re positive we’ll proceed to see for some time to return.
Olgrun
OlgrunDynamic Debut: Motion Comics #1043
Olgrun is a reputation you most likely haven’t heard for those who haven’t been following the previous few problems with Philip Kennedy Johnson’s Motion Comics, however one thing tells us it’s about to get essential. In accordance with intergalactic legend, Olgrun was the primary and strongest of the Previous Gods, whose essence was divided into seven items after he went mad with energy. A type of fragments turned the core of the planet we all know as Warworld. The opposite six are on the market someplace, providing both an amazing boon or horrible damnation to any who would dare to reunite them. This looks like going to be a fairly large deal for each Superman particularly and the mythology of the DC Universe as a complete, so watch the persevering with adventures of Superman for additional developments.
Taylor Barzelay
Taylor BarzelayDynamic Debut: Galaxy: The Prettiest Star
Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor’s Galaxy: The Prettiest Star is a ebook that doesn’t look or really feel fairly like the rest DC’s ever needed to provide. And the ebook’s hero, Taylor Barzelay, is solely distinctive within the DC Universe as effectively. A princess in exile of an alien world taken hostage by an unstoppable enemy, Taelyr Ilextrix-spiir Biarxiiai was compelled into hiding on the planet Earth within the guise of a teenage boy. However as Taylor grows into the information of her true self and the scope of her powers, she discovers that probably the most heroic factor you are able to do is just to dwell as your genuine self. As Galaxy, Taylor is the primary trans superhero to headline her personal DC comedian, and we are able to’t wait to see the place she goes subsequent.
Dick Grayson…?
Dick Grayson…?Dynamic Debut: Nightwing #97
And our #1 choose for the Sensational Character Discover of 2022 is…Dick Grayson, once more? This might solely be the work of extraplanar interference. A late entry into this yr’s listing is the fifth dimensional imp Dyxl, launched by Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo this yr as Nite-Mite. Like Bat-Mite earlier than him, Dyxl is the multiverse’s largest fan of his personal hero, our personal Dick Grayson. And contemplating the new streak Nightwing’s run has been on these days, we are able to’t say we blame him for his fandom. Nite-Mite is right here in Blüdhaven to assist out the unique Boy Marvel in any method his near-omnipotent powers permit, even when he is usually a little misguided about it. (Swiftly organized wedding ceremony to Barbara Gordon apart, for example.) Most significantly, Nite-Mite’s well-meaning bedevilment of Nightwing signifies that he has extra grounds than ever on which to narrate to his trusty sidekick, Batman.
These are our most promising rookies, however we haven’t completed handing out accolades but. Which DC characters have had their largest years but in 2022? Test again subsequent week for our roundup of the best superhero glow-ups of the yr.
Alex Jaffe is the writer of our month-to-month “Ask…the Query” column and writes about TV, motion pictures, comics and superhero historical past for DC.com. Observe him on Twitter at @AlexJaffe and discover him within the DC Group as HubCityQuestion.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of Alex Jaffe and don’t essentially replicate these of DC Leisure or Warner Bros.
