The Ten Best DC Glow-Ups of 2022

We’ve proven you our most promising class of characters to debut this 12 months. Nevertheless, 2022 wasn’t only a 12 months for brand new heroes, but additionally an elevation for others lengthy established. You by no means know when a lesser recognized character goes to get their probability at a lift to the subsequent stage, or an surprising darkish horse emerges from the pack. However yearly, it’s inevitable that some breakouts in our forged of hundreds will get their second within the solar. These are the best superhero glow-ups we noticed in 2022.

Peacemaker and Judomaster

The transition to the DC Universe from Charlton Comics within the Eighties was simpler for some heroes than others. Captain Atom turned a member of the Justice League and is among the strongest lively superheroes right this moment. The Query received a beloved sequence by Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan, and a fanbase in Justice League Limitless. Blue Beetle has a legacy which can see him make the bounce to a significant movie—and really presumably this record—subsequent 12 months. Peacemaker and Judomaster, however…  Nicely, other than a miniseries right here and a cameo there, they haven’t seen a lot motion. Final 12 months’s The Suicide Squad took Christopher Smith off the shelf, but it surely was in 2022’s Peacemaker that the silver helmeted lug actually received his probability at redemption—to not point out a reunion with Judomaster, a fellow alum of the Charlton Class. Now, Peacemaker’s received everybody dancing.

The Joker

Season three of Harley Quinn gave us every part we may need from a full-blown, no-hiding #HarlIvy relationship, but it surely additionally gave us top-of-the-line Joker tales ever: one the place he not solely runs for mayor of Gotham Metropolis and wins, however seems to truly be actually good at it. College attendance is up, crime is down, healthcare is obtainable to all, the corrupt GCPD is totally defunded, and billionaire scoundrel Bruce Wayne is lastly behind bars for tax evasion. We’re all lining as much as be part of the Sane Clown Posse.

Vixen, Zatanna and the Outlaws

One of many greatest runaway successes of 2021 was the Bat-Household’s transition to slice-of-life WEBTOON sequence Batman: Wayne Household Adventures. This 12 months noticed the burgeoning WEBTOON-verse (Earth-W?) develop fourfold, with three vastly totally different however equally participating new sequence: Vixen NYC, which strikes a younger Mari McCabe into the large metropolis as she grows into her powers; Zatanna and the Ripper, catapulting Zatanna and John Constantine again in time to catch London’s most notorious serial killer; and the chaotic adventures of Pink Hood: Outlaws, by which Pink Hood, Artemis and Bizarro fill in for the Justice League. Attending to see a few of DC’s much less mainstream heroes have room to breathe in weekly, year-round sequence has actually given them house to develop and for followers to maintain on spending time—oh man, am I out of Cash once more?

Tim Drake

Looks as if DC actually DOES love the ’90s as a result of the primary Robin to decide on the mantle for himself is again in enterprise as Batman’s go-to companion in the principle Batman sequence, has his personal ongoing sequence once more for the primary time in over a decade, a model new boyfriend to be charmingly awkward round, and most significantly, is straight up ROBIN once more. Love the Drake! Large fan of the Drake. How may you not just like the Drake?

Razer

After Inexperienced Lantern: The Animated Sequence ended its run in 2013, no one anticipated to see sequence deuteragonist Razer, the reformed Pink Lantern, ever once more. Left adrift in house on a quest for his misplaced love with redemption trailing behind him, the story appeared to finish there with an emblem of hope and nothing extra. In 2022, we received the subsequent chapter in Razer’s story in probably the most surprising of locations, a complete episode devoted to him in HBO Max’s Younger Justice: Phantoms. Years of manipulation by the New God Metron and a reunion along with his former touring companion Kilowog led Razer to grow to be the primary Lantern to wield the pink and blue rings collectively, forging a brand new path ahead for himself. The place he’ll present up subsequent, who can say? However possibly we haven’t seen the tip of his journey in spite of everything. There’s at all times Hope.

Jackson Hyde and Supergirl

The DC Universe has at all times been strongest when the lengthy arc of a legacy hero pays off to point out them turning into one thing greater than they ever have been earlier than, rising into icons in their very own proper. In 2022, two heroes within the DC Universe considerably stepped up: Jackson Hyde, the son of Black Manta, who grew into his position as the brand new Aquaman, and Supergirl, who because the Lady of Tomorrow launched into an epic house odyssey which proved that she possesses all the facility, willpower and goodness of her cousin after which some. Though their journeys of self-discovery have taken them via totally different trials, they’ve each ended up in the identical place—because the heroes of their very own story.

The Riddler

We’ve seen your fanart, you animals. And actually, we are able to’t completely blame you. Paul Dano’s efficiency because the Riddler on this 12 months’s The Batman wasn’t one thing any of us have been anticipating, however there’s one thing about his relationship with Batman, which turns a 74-year-old dynamic on its head. Edward Nashton views Gotham’s younger vigilante not as an adversary, however an mental collaborator and companion—the right physique to his excellent mind. You might chuckle about him having 500 followers, however what number of of your mutuals would strap up and invade a political rally for you? It’s a particular sort of freak who’s into this specific Patrick Parker, however you can not deny that freak is down dangerous.

Constantine

There are sizzling messes, and there are Sizzling Messes. The latter is at all times synonymous with Constantine, the smoldering scourge of thaumaturgy. However in a little bit of intelligent double casting, Netflix’s The Sandman took what we knew concerning the DCU’s most disastrous bisexual and switched it up on us by presenting the normal John Constantine as Jenna Coleman’s Johanna. Whether or not she’s prettier to have a look at than Matt Ryan comes right down to a matter of choice, however we are able to solely think about the actual Constantine wouldn’t say no to sharing a cig with both. (And he does exist—simply ask anybody who’s ever written him.) What Johanna Constantine does present us is that it doesn’t matter what kind Constantine takes, whenever you get blended up of their path, you’re at all times in for a hell of a time.

The JSA

2022 was a banner 12 months for the world’s first superhero group. Mixing it up on the large display with Black Adam, a restoration of their legacy in Stargirl and standing on the forefront of The New Golden Age within the comics, the JSA has been profitable a conflict on three fronts, dominating DC’s movie, tv and comedian books. After a decade of obscurity, it’s protected to say as of this 12 months that the Justice Society has been restored to their rightful place in DC historical past. Precisely what their place in DC’s future could also be lies within the arms of Courtney Whitmore, on a quest to redeem the misplaced sidekicks of the previous, and the unique Huntress—not mob daughter Helena Bertinelli, however Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle’s daughter Helena Wayne, now from the long run herself.

The Titans

DC wasn’t joking earlier this 12 months after they declared the demise of the Justice League in Justice League #75. The members could also be again, however the group as we all know it’s over. Rising from Darkish Disaster on Infinite Earths are the world’s new premiere A-Listing protectors…the Titans. The following technology of superheroes is all set as much as take middle stage, with Dick Grayson main the pack. And after seeing how they’ve navigated this newest Disaster, we all know in addition to the unique Justice League lineup that Earth couldn’t be in higher arms. Titans Collectively!
 

Alex Jaffe is the creator of our month-to-month “Ask…the Query” column and writes about TV, films, comics and superhero historical past for DC.com. Observe him on Twitter at @AlexJaffe and discover him within the DC Neighborhood 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.